


Maybe It's Fate

by FC2000



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But who's the baby daddy???, F/M, FC tries real human drama, Han and Leia are slightly younger for plot, Kylo can't people again, No Smut, Single teen mom Rey, Some dub-con, Unplanned Pregnancy, and plenty of angst/drama, but some fluff, tragedy and circumstance, will Rey ever get a happy ending?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-03-01 00:02:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13282665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FC2000/pseuds/FC2000
Summary: Rey enters the lives of the Solo family in her quest to find the perfect adoptive parents for her child.  Their pre-existing son is understandably not thrilled at the idea of being replaced.





	1. Lunch Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my 2018 fic everyone! I really do only have the mental energy for one fic a year, don't I?
> 
> No worries, I think I know where this one is going for the most part. The middle is always hard.

She had been waiting in the restaurant for only ten minutes, but Rey already felt like a nervous wreck. She dug her shoes into the floor, hoping no one would notice the scotch tape covering the holes. The hostess must have thought she was lost. Rey thought that herself. But sure enough, this was where the clients wanted to meet.

Of course it had to be a fancy table-clothed restaurant in the upscale district of D'Qar. She had been chewing on her thumb incessantly to ease the stress until the waiter came by with a menu for her to look at and she ordered a glass of water for now. The least expensive item on the menu was a $7 slice of cake, still above her daily food budget. Her hopes for free bread were dashed quickly as she found none of the other tables seemed to have bread either.

She was also clearly not dressed for a fancy place like this, making her wish she had suggested a more casual meeting place instead of agreeing to a fancy lunch meeting...a lunch meeting where Rey would not be able to eat.

She felt the gurgle in her bump, one that said she was overdue for another meal. Normally, a small snack in the morning could get her through most of the day but that stopped being the case months ago.

Such was the burden of having to eat for two. She whispered a promise to the little boy or girl down there that they would find something afterwards. 

Before Rey could consider putting on her worn out jacket and making a quick exit to the door, she saw an older couple enter the restaurant. The woman was in her early fifties, the man was a bit older, already spouting some white hair but both still seemed physically well and confident. They seem to match the descriptions of the couple she was expecting to meet. 

The hostess greeted them as if they were familiars. 

And now they were eying the only pregnant girl in the entire restaurant.

“Are you Rey?” The older woman asked.

Rey got up barely getting a “yes” out of her mouth.

“I'm Leia, and this is my husband Han Solo.” They exchange nervous hellos and handshakes all around and then took their seats at the table. The couple then ordered their drinks.

“I know what you must have been expecting a younger couple,” said Leia.

But Rey wasn't surprised at all. “No, Maz...I mean...Miss Kanata told me. It's just I do wonder...”

“What did I tell you, Leia,” said Han. “Everyone thinks we're nuts wanting to adopt at our age.”

“Everyone except us. And I can assure you Rey, that Han and I are in very good health. We're just going to have to put off retirement for a bit longer.” She laughed and Rey tried to laugh with her almost nervously. “Plus our marriage counselor thought it was a good idea.”

“Well just as long as the kid isn't calling me 'grandpa', then we're fine.”

Rey was grateful the couple had been too busy in conversation to look at the menu yet. She had been enamored with Han speaking of how he and Miss Kanata had known each other in the past. The history went far back, almost as if they had been family. Now Rey was beginning to understand why she had recommended this couple despite their age.

“I suppose you already know now?” Leia asked.

Rey was confused. “Know what?”

“Whether you're having a boy or a girl. You must be four...five months along?”

“Five months I think,” she said.

“When was your last checkup?”

It was at this point that Rey started biting her thumb again in nervousness. “Thing is...I haven't...I can't exactly afford a doctor. I only started seeing Miss Kanata a couple of weeks ago.”

Han and Leia looked at each other. “Oh, we're not here to judge you...”

Then why did it feel like they were? Why could Rey sense some form of pity from them? Any minute now, she expected them to start inquiring her as to how the baby came to be. 

“But you really do need to see a doctor,” said Leia. “Don't think we would make you pay for that. This is going to be our baby, so we'll pay for everything. I know a good physician who can take a look at you this week.”

Rey seemed taken aback by this kind gesture. Such charity seemed foreign to her. “Oh...thank you...”

The waiter came back again to take their orders. Rey was reluctant to say she wasn't ordering. Han, who had been watching her the whole time spoke up. “Relax, kid. We're treating you.”

This was getting too much. She could burst but she could not do it in public. All she could do was smile. “Well...what do you think I should get?”

It was Leia who suggested the salmon, which was on the pricier side, but nutritionally good for the baby and all. A simple plate and yet it was the best meal that Rey had ever had in her life. It was the first time in weeks were she felt actually full.

“Are you sure you don't want to give us your number?”

“I'm sure,” Rey assured Leia. “I can call you, and I'm meeting with Miss Kanata tomorrow.”

“She's a wonderful pregnancy counselor. You'll see.”

The couple had even offered to give Rey a ride home as they left the restaurant but Rey politely declined. She waited until they were out of sight before making, or rather waddling her down the street.

The feeling that she was being watched after leaving the restaurant became a mere memory by sundown when it was time for her to catch the bus and start heading home.

\-------------

The private investigator had dropped off the photos his client had requested. When the man looked at them, he became furious.

His parents were already at it. There they were happily leaving the restaurant accompanied by a very pregnant girl who was barely an adult if she even was. Perhaps their patience was already lacking. They were ready for any kid to replace him.

He knew he shouldn't be acting like this. He was an adult but given the way his parents were, he had every right to be mad. There had been buzz about them considering this. Did they really think that adopting a baby at their age was going to make up for all their failures in raising him?

He hadn't spoke to his parents in a very long time, for good reason. But now it seemed a confrontation really was in order.

\-------------

The trip from D'Qar to Jakku took over an hour and required two transfers. Rey was tired and weary by the time her sore feet finally made it to the trailer park.

She missed the days were she could easily crawl into the window to her bedroom and avoid any if at all interaction with Unkar, her so-called foster father. He barely gave a shit about what Rey did during most hours of the day. During his worst days, it was for the best in her mind.

Unfortunately, the adding width from the child she was carrying forced Rey to go through the front door of the home leading straight into the small living room. Unkar seemed to have fallen asleep on the sofa. She hoped to sneak past him to her bedroom.

“You meet them?” a low grumble came from the sofa.

Rey was too tired to let her nervousness show. “Yeah, I did.”

“They loaded?”

'More than you think', she dared not say. She only gave him a nod and a grunt.

“Well good,” said Unkar. “Maybe we'll get something out of your little screw-up.” 

Rey clenched her fists to contain her anger. It was a bit petty. It wasn't his fault that Rey was constantly sneaking out every night not caring about her, resulting in the condition that she was in now. But she could be angry at him for how he handled everything that came after it. 

It took her weeks after finding out she was pregnant to finally tell him. She thought he would scream at her and throw her out for good, which would have been a blessing if she had some place to go. To her surprise, when she finally found her courage, Unkar merely sat there and laughed...very loudly in fact. Then he told her that he knew she would fuck up one day. That seemed to be the only expectation he ever had of her.

He did inquire once or twice about who the father of the baby was, but when Rey refused to tell him anything, he eventually let it go.

Then came the point when Rey had considered an abortion. Somehow Unkar got heed and stopped her but not out of personal belief. He knew people would pay big money to adopt a baby through the black market and he was determine to get every dime the child could be worth.

And if Rey had to suffer through the actual childbirth in a back alley instead of in a hospital, well...he considered that an added bonus. Which was why she was supposed to have been meeting with some contacts of his in Jakku.

The whole plan horrified her. This was a child, not a product or pet that could be sold for profit. 

But when it came to living in dire conditions, in a structure that barely passed for livable...even in a trailer park...they were desperate for money regardless of where it came from.

It was how Rey got herself into this mess in the first place.

She was thankful, she still had heart...a heart to not meet with Unkar's contact...a heart instead, to walk to the pregnancy clinic...and to meet with Maz Kanata. 

The woman was a savior to Rey. She never judged her. She listened. She understood, and it was through her that the choice to give her child up for adoption, the right and honest way, came easy. And because of Maz, she was able to meet the Solos.

It wasn't a secret she could keep from Unkar for very long, but for now it was worth trying.

When Rey was finally in the security of her closet-sized bedroom, she spent the rest of her evening snacking on the few treats she managed to hide underneath her mattress and continue work on her knit doll. 

It didn't take long for the baby to start kicking.

“What do you think? Do you like them?” She asked her belly.

The kicking and fluttering continued. She took it as a good sign. “So do I. I think...I think they might be perfect.”

She looked at the knit doll she was halfway through. The doll was an idea of Maz's. The child would want some form of link or reminder of the birth mother, that they might never get to meet or see again once they were born.

A painful thought but one that Rey needed to push out of her mind. 

She knew that she was doing the right thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Kylo will meet in next chappie on my honor. We can only expect bad things from it.


	2. Screw Ups

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy to have so many on board with this story.
> 
> For those of you new to my works, please don't be upset if I don't respond to your comments. I felt awkward about responding to them and in my first story I respond to none at all. I think I find it easier to respond to questions and comments where I feel a response is really necessary. Otherwise all the love you guys bring to my stories is greatly appreciated. Thank you and enjoy the ride.
> 
> Another note: I'm also a slow writer. Patience is also appreciated. :)

Rey began the long walk to the pregnancy center from her home, but it forced her to walk past her high school and it was a Monday. Watching her former peers meet up in the lawns before heading inside for class was difficult for Rey. This year would have been her senior year. But it wasn't as if she'd been doing well in her classes the past couple of years. Still, she tried her best to keep up with everyone, spending many hours in the public library (her only access to a computer) as she could...going night after night without dinner to finish assignments she constantly fell behind in.

But once she became pregnant, any hope of being able to graduate by a mere thread were dashed.

She started feeling better once she was with Maz Kanata again.

“The Solos seem really taken with you,” she told Rey.

“I like them too.”

“You're not put off by their age?”

“Of course not,” Rey said. “It just means they're wiser, aren't they? And they probably know more about taking care of a baby than...” She stopped herself and tried quickly to turn the conversation elsewhere. “Did they say anything else about me?”

“If you're wondering what I think you were wondering...they've respected your choice not to disclose any information on the father, as have I. As long as the child is in good health, it should be fine.” Rey could see Maz writing endless notes on her notepad from where she was sitting. Maz then gave her a curious look. “And you're sure you want to keep this a closed adoption?”

Rey was abrupt. “I'm sure. It's better this way.” She hated hiding so much from Maz but she was the only one she could trust now with the choices she was making. Maz was also her only communication with the Solos. While there was a phone in her home, Rey feared the idea of them calling the house and Unkar answering, blowing the top off her plan to give the child away for adoption.

Luckily, Maz told her that Leia had already set up an appointment for her. And within a few days, she was meeting with her again at the doctor's office. Even the doctor was surprised how late in the game Rey was at coming here. But Leia remained ever supportive, holding her hand the whole time throughout the sonogram.

The beeping of the machines seemed to cease as Rey was looking at the first images of her child.

“We should go see Han and tell him the good news.”

Rey found herself riding with Leia across town to a small mechanic garages on the outskirts of D'Qar. It was nestled against the endless forest of trees, making the place appear almost isolated.

When they pulled up, they could see Han working on a very old decaying beige van.

“Hey kiddo!” Han greeted Rey. “Everything go okay?”

“Better than okay,” said Leia. She looked to Rey. “It's a girl, Han. We're having a girl.”

“Holy cow! Are you kidding me? Hey Chewie!” Han called out to a large scruffy man who was working inside the garage. “I'm having a daughter!”

Han even went so far as to hug Rey. If she wasn't so heavy at the moment, Han would have easily picked her up from the ground. “We've always talked about having a girl. You don't know how great this is!”

Leia kissed Han on the cheek. “I have to leave now. Rey do you need a ride?”

“Don't worry about that,” said Han. “Let her stick around and we'll celebrate. I'll can drop her off later.”

Rey was not keen on either of them giving her a ride home. She didn't want to make it obvious to them where she lived. Being in Leia's company alone had made her quiet and rather nervous. She opted to give Han a chance. Perhaps she could slip out and get to the bus stop before sunset.

Han couldn't exactly celebrate while working. They ordered pizzas and Han showed her around the garage. 

“That van you're working on...” Rey pointed to the one she saw when she first arrived. “Is that really a Falcon?”

Han was very impressed. “You know your cars. That's amazing. Yeah that a real Millenium '77. Been with me for decades. It's hard to keep up with repairs and all. I'm looking I may have to give up on it.”

“I work with some old cars at home.”

“Do you? If this garage was doing better business, I'd hire ya.” He could see Rey seemed a bit disappointed. “But you know, you can always come here whenever you want and give the thing a try. Chewie thinks I need to focus more on my actual customers anyway. Hold on...don't you have school?”

“Not anymore,” Rey said sadly.

“Huh...well don't feel bad. Sometimes, we just screw up.”

But Rey thought to herself _'not the way I have'_

Han continued to assure her. “I mean...you can always finish up once the kid's out. I barely finished high school myself. Couldn't get through college.”

“What happened?”

“I met Leia, that's what happened.” He laughed.

Thankfully, as the sun went down, Han still had too much work to do and Rey assured him she could get home on her own. 

The picture of the ultrasound Rey had received, she made sure to hide it from Unkar and keep it hidden under her mattress. But she would pull it every night to remind herself what she was doing all of this for.

Over the coming days, Rey found herself heading back to the garage and Han let her have at it with messing around with the Millennium Falcon. Her interest in cars and mechanics allowed her to bond with Han on a level she never thought imaginable. Unkar never cared or even wondered if Rey had any interests. She only knew cars because the trailer park was often a dumping ground for them and with no friends to play with, Rey killed time exploring anything she could find for herself.

Han always provided her a free lunch. Most of the time, it was just some sandwiches made from whatever could be found in the breakroom fridge, but to Rey, it was just as good as the salmon she had the day she first met the Solos.

The garage, particularly the inside of the Falcon, was becoming more of a second home to her than her lifetime in the trailer park had ever been.

“Aw shit.”

The way Han said it worried Rey, like something dreadful was about to happen. She was sitting in the front seat of the Falcon but not wanting to expend the needless energy of getting out she adjusted the side view mirror. A slick black car had rolled up and Han came to begrudgingly greet it.

From out the car came a man, tall...intimidating. He seemed to loom over Han. His face though, unusually gentle despite its grotesque features (if one were to see large ears and nose as grotesque). 

“Hey, Ben.” Han seemed rather nervous. The man didn't seem taken with being called by that name, apparently. “I...never thought you'd come all the way out here.”

“I know what you're planning...you and mom...”

Rey winced. Did he say 'mom'? 'Mom' as in Leia?

“Look, Ben. It's got nothing to do with you...”

“Really? Nearly 30 years of barely raising me and out of nowhere, you decide it's time for another kid? You think you'll do right with this one, Han? Or are just gonna dump him on Uncle Luke like you did with me?”

“Ben!”

“I told you not to call me by that name anymore!”

From where Rey could see, Han and this 'Ben' person seemed to be facing off against each other, almost ready for a fight like two rabid dogs. Rey was ready to wiggle her way out of the Falcon, but Ben began to turn and started heading back to his car. “Tell mom to forget about me coming to the Christmas party. Save it for your next kid.”

Rey gave a sigh of relief as the car door slammed and Ben began slowly driving away. Only then did she get out of the Falcon to reach Han.

“He's...” Rey was still in disbelief. All this time she had thought that Han and Leia were just a couple struggling with a lifetime of infertility. “He's your son?”

Han gave her an apologetic look. “It's like I said: we all screw up.”

Despite how curious she was about Ben, Rey was not going to exasperate Han on the issue. Seeing his son had quite shaken him which only showed how little the two had seen each other.

By late afternoon, Rey was waddling her way to the only bus stop in D'Qar. When she got near downtown, she spotted a familiar black car parked on the street curb. Thankfully, she thought, no Ben in sight.

“You...”

She turned around, nearly jumped at the sight of him...but then quickly gained her composure. His own father might have been nervous around him, but Rey was not going to give Ben the same luxury. Being within close proximity, Rey couldn't help but whiff a slight scent of alcohol from off him. Seemed about right, in Rey's mind, for him to be drunk this time of day.

“So you're the mother of my replacement.”

Already, Rey despised the man. This was a grown-ass adult who was jealous of a baby much like an older kid sibling would be.

“It's best I warn you. You think you're giving your kid a good life with THEM...then you're making a big mistake. They're career people. Just wait till it's out of diapers and it's going to be a second thought to them.”

Rey huffed. He might have life experience on his side, but she was still convinced that there was bitterness and jealously motivating his words. “I think I can judge for myself whether or not your parents are good people.”

“It's for it's own good! It's not going to have a good life there!”

“IT is a girl and I've already made up my mind about where she's going to have a good life. Now excuse me before I miss my bus, Ben!” 

The look on his face when the name was heard gave Rey an inner sense of satisfaction. She took the victory with her turning her back to him and picking up the pace.

She could hear him mumbling on something along the lines of “you'll see” or “you'll be sorry.” She wasn't sure what. 

But Rey had to get out of there before giving into her desire to want to punch that man in the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not thrilled with how I wrapped up this chapter. The next one I think will have a bit more juice to it.


	3. Christmas Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goddamn writer's block. This fic is starting to become a chore for me.
> 
> I'm starting to regret starting this story now but I feel obligated to finish it. Sorry to everyone who was waiting. Hope the length makes up for it. Plus you're one step closer to learning more about the origins of the pregnancy in this chap. 
> 
> I am loving that people have Baby Daddy theories already. Keep 'em up!

By December, Rey was reaching the six month mark and things were getting painful, physically and mentally. Walking got worse but, it was her best way to get around. She tried her best to find food but Unkar wasn't exactly the best provider. The fridge was mostly stacked with beer and other useless crap that Rey couldn't possibly let the baby consume and Unkar was not going to get anymore food for Rey's sake than the bare minimum. He knew far less about the needs of pregnancy than Rey did.

So it should not have come as any surprise that during one trip to Han's garage, Rey got dizzy. She tried to tell Han that it was nothing but he wasn't buying any of it. Within a few days she and Leia were back in the doctor's office again.

“Anemia,” said the doctor. “Thankfully nothing bad yet. You're going to need to nourish your blood supply more. I'll provide you some iron supplements to get you through to the end.”

Rey hated having to get a ride from Leia or Han but in her current condition there was no arguing. She had given Leia a fake location, at the front of a more middle class neighborhood and then instead of waiting infront of a house, she would stand on a street corner. She didn't want to think about the irony of doing such a thing, but there was little other choice.

“Are you eating well Rey?” Leia asked her in the car.

“Alright,” Rey lied. She wondered if Leia suspected. Something in her eyes, suggested that she did. Rey was not looking forward to what could come from her mouth next.

But then Leia smirked. “When I was at six months with Ben, I was plumped as a Christmas goose.” She paused. “Han said you knew. I'm sorry we weren't forthcoming about him. We haven't spoken to each other in a very long time.”

“Any reason?” Rey asked out of curiosity.

“Too many of them to count. I was hoping with the holidays, and with the adoption, that he would consider reaching out. Not like that though.”

Rey remembered her own encounter with Ben and could understand why the Solos didn't make much contact with their son. “Well I think he's acting a bit childish about the whole thing. He's supposed to be what? 30?”

“27. And it's not in my right to judge him for how he feels about all of this. I still have hope that he'll come around, maybe after the baby arrives…” Leia pulled up to the street corner. “Rey, do you and your family do anything on Christmas?”

Rey wanted to smirk. She pretty much got the hint since she was very young, that there would be no traditional Christmas celebrating stuck in a trailer home with Unkar all day. She had often been left to herself while he was asleep drunk as shit on the couch. “Not much.”

“We're having a get-together on Christmas Eve. It might even be a baby shower given how much of the news has spread.”

What did she mean by that? It was just an adoption. What was the big deal?

“We would love for you and your family to drop by, even if for a short while. There's going to be a lot of people who'll want to meet you.”

It was starting to make Rey uncomfortable the idea that she would be the center of attention. She had hoped for the pregnancy to be a quite exchange...one that would be done and over with quickly. 

But Leia still wrote the address down for her anyway.

Over the next week, she gathered what little savings she had. Unkar had a metal scraping business which wasn't very legal and made Han's auto garage look corporate in comparison. When Rey wasn't in school, she would try and do whatever work she could for him. In the beginning, there was no pay. She either did work as payment for her room and board or get grounded on a repeated basis. It was only in the past several years that she would be paid something equivalent to a child's allowance, not enough to support herself let alone a child in the process.

She hated to spend any money when it wasn't necessary. But with her already expected to attend the Christmas party, she needed to find suitable clothes that didn't make her look destitute. It would be too embarrassing for her to show up in her typical street attire.

She frequented the thrift shops, and found it hard to find a dress that would fit her thanks to the belly. The green and white striped dress she finally stuck with was a bit oversized but it was better than nothing. The shoes she needed to get for matching though took up the rest of her budget. She didn't know how she was going to get through the rest of this pregnancy without relying on Han and Leia so much. They would start suspecting something was up.

Worst yet, Rey had nothing left to get Han and Leia something in return. All she had was the knit doll that she had just finished.

When Christmas Eve came around, Rey decided upon wrapping the doll in some brown paper she found in the trash, hoping it wouldn't be so obvious.

The bus stop in D'Qar was a bit of a walk from the address Rey was given. It would be a long walk in the cold. Perhaps the dress wasn't the best choice of attire. And it was going to kill her to freeze out here. It was all she could focus on unaware of a car that was pulling up to her on the side of the road. She glanced over and could count at least three people in there.

“Hey...are you Rey?” The driver, a young suave-looking male asked. The man must have been one of many Leia probably told about her.

“Uh...yeah.”

“You're going to Leia's party, aren't you? Come ride with us!”

The invitation wasn't something Rey expected, not in an upscale place like D'Qar. She had expected everyone who came in the area to be as snobbish as the landscaping she walked past.

She reluctantly waddled her way over. Even the girl in the back seat scoot over for Rey with a smile on her face. The driver introduced himself as Poe, a longtime employee of Leia's. In the companion seat, was Finn, a good friend and sitting next to Rey was his girlfriend Rose.

“Leia is going to be so happy you came.”

They all made it to the house in ten minutes.

Rey should not have been surprised as to what she was about to enter into. The house was by far the largest in the area. It wasn't a million dollar mansion, but it was classic-looking, very homely, as if it had been there for centuries. The yard wasn't that big, but Rey could imagine rows upon rows of flowers making the place more colorful in the springtime.

She hoped that Leia was into gardening.

Once Rey was inside the party itself, she was swarmed by many strangers, all more dressed for the occasion than she was. Leia and Han then appeared and gave her a hug. Even if she had wanted to, Rey would find it hard to hide from everyone being the only pregnant woman there.

“Did your family bring you here?” Leia asked. She seemed eager to meet them. If she was lucky, Rey hoped she never does.

“They couldn't make it tonight.”

Rey hated herself for these little lies she had to tell Leia and Han all the time. At least the other guests weren't so nosy or interrogating. She had almost forgotten about the little brown package. “I brought you something. Though...it's actually more for the baby.”

Leia unwrapped the brown paper. “Oh Rey...did you make this, yourself? It's beautiful.” She then took Rey over to a pile of presents, next to a large brightly decorated Christmas tree, from various guests. Many of them weren't wrapped. From what was exposed she new it was all stuff that Leia and Han were getting for the baby...toys, clothing, supplies, and even a new crib. “I wanted you to see...”

She couldn't cry...not here...but it was overwhelming to see...to know…that all doubt she had about the baby's future was gone. She was going to have a home here. A happy home. A happy life.

In all her years, Rey never imagined having a Christmas in a home like this. There was more food than what she could by on in a whole month and no one minded how much she took given her condition.

“I think you're getting your hopes up, Leia,” she heard a man say nearby. Rey looked over and saw the bearded man speaking to Leia as she was looking through a foyer window.

“Am I wrong to think he'd come?”

“This is more about him and me than anyone else. If he's not coming, then I'm most likely the reason.”

Rey moved closer to them out of curiosity until Leia turned and saw her. She dropped her hand from the curtain she was holding. “Rey, this is my brother Luke.”

Rey had expected any relative of Leia to be as cheerful or at least as confident as she was. But when she shook the man's hand and looked into his eyes, she saw someone much beaten down and rather weary, which was odd given he looked no older than Leia was. She knew in that moment, that the person they were speaking of was Ben. But before anymore could be said Luke turned to conversation to other topics in a quick attempt to escape.

The party had gone on and after several hours, Rey realized that she needed to leave if she wanted to make it to the bus stop to catch the last bus back to Jakku.

“Hey kid, you leavin' already?” Han asked.

“I'm afraid I have to.”

“Well don't forget your bag.” Rey was confused. She didn't bring any type of bag with her. 

Han looked around hoping to find Leia but she couldn't be seen. Instead he grabbed one of the big Christmas bags from the closet. “This is for you.” Rey pulled some of the items out...a knitted scarf, some wool socks, a sweater and near the bottom various chocolates and other snacks. It was nothing compared to all the things the baby received and yet…

She gave Han a massive hug, fighting back every tear that wanted to come. She thanked him and slipped out quietly, not letting on to anyone that she just had her first real Christmas.

The cold air didn't deter her on her walk to downtown D'Qar. She even took time to try on the wool socks and the scarf.

That would ultimately become her mistake.

As she got closer to the bus stop, she could already see the back lights disappearing down the road.

“No! Wait!!!”

Running was impossible, not if she wanted to hurt herself or the baby. She managed only a few feet before needing to stop and catch her breath. By then, the street had gone silent.

Her choices were minimal. Either she would have to head back to the Solo's house and inconvenience them once more, or she would have to walk all night. Calling Unkar was not an option, even if Rey did had a phone.

The lights of an approaching car distracted her. When it slowed down upon approach, Rey got an uncomfortable almost eery sense of Deja-vu. But then the car appeared until the street light that Rey was under.

The last face she had expected to see rolled down the passenger window.

“You're seriously walking home looking like that?”

Of course, Ben Solo would have to insult her just upon seeing her. She had expected nothing less from him. “What's it to you?”

“Are you crazy? It's 30 degrees outside and you're wearing a dress! Hurry up and get in.”

She scoffed. “Ha! Like I'd go anywhere with you!”

“I know you're not from anywhere around here. You won't survive and neither will that kid if you walk all the way home.”

“You care about the baby all the sudden?” Rey asked him. “I would think you of all people would be happy to rid us both.”

Ben was ready to hand his hands against the dashboard. “Dammit! Will you just get in the car already?!” He was on the verge of causing a ruckus, something that Rey didn't want to provoke. Or maybe it was her tired feet or the cold that made her finally surrender and squeeze her way into the passenger seat.

“Where do you live?” he asked her.

“Jakku,” Rey blurted out.

“You need to be more specific.”

“That's all you're getting,” she said. Ben grunted and started driving. He put Jakku in his GPS, an estimated time of twenty long antagonizing minutes that she would have to endure. The only thing getting her through this was the warmth of the heater nursing her cold legs.

For most of the trip they had been silent. That was until something began to nag at Rey. 

“Were you going to come? To Han and Leia's Christmas party? Is that why you were there?”

“I was there,” said Ben.

“But I never...”

“I pulled up just as you were going in with Dameron. You were the guest of honor and I would have just spoiled that.”

“Are you serious?! Your parents wanted you to come, Ben! Leia was waiting all night!”

“Thought about it. Till I saw my uncle through the window.”

“Luke?” she asked.

The name seemed to ruffle some feathers with Ben. “So you met him?”

“You're being such a child, Ben. You know that?! Maybe it is a good thing my baby is replacing you!”

“Like you're any better? You get knocked up and now you're bailing out on your kid by giving her away?”

That was a massive insult to Rey given the sacrifice she was making. “I'm not bailing out!”

“Don't you want your kid to know you?”

“She's better off not knowing where she came from.”

“It's not gonna be the first kid that came from a mistake.”

“It's not like that.”

Ben was almost ready to stop the car as he kept looking at her. “It...it wasn't...then why…?”

She didn't want to tell him.

The worst thought possible came to Ben. “Damn it, tell me it's not what I think it is...”

“No!” she protested. “Not like that!”

Ben was just confused. “What the hell. Just tell me!”

“I was desperate, okay?!”

There was a silence in the car as Ben tried to understand what that meant. There was no turning back for Rey now. “I...I needed money. Really badly.” She shielded her face from Ben. “I saw women on the corner all the time. I swore to myself I wouldn't be like that but...I couldn't get work anywhere and school wasn't helping me. I thought if I just did it once, then that was it. I'd be okay after that...”

Ben said nothing.

“I guess I...I must have taken the pill wrong.”

For the first time that night, Rey could not or did not care about hiding any tears. “Well, now you know...I'm a whore! Does that make you happy?” As she tried to wipe them with her arms, a horrible thought struck her. “Oh god...please…,” she begged him. “Please don't tell Leia. If she knew she wouldn't want her anymore!”

“You don't know that,” said Ben.

“And what if everyone else knew? Everyone at that party? This would destroy them, Ben. I can't do that to Han or Leia. I've already ruined 'her' life.” Rey said looking down at her stomach. “Don't you see now, that this is better for her?”

But Ben couldn't say anything.

“Drop me off here.”

“What?”

“I said drop me off here!” Rey demanded.

“In this weather?”

“We're close enough anyway. Just please!”

Ben groaned as they arrived at what seemed like a fork in the road just as they entered Jakku. The only street sign his GPS showed was Niima road. 

Rey grabbed her bag. “Thanks for the ride, I guess.” Then she slammed the car door and made her way down the road into the dark. 

For a moment, Ben thought to follow her, just to make sure she got home okay. The last thing he needed was to everyone to think he was trying to get rid of the girl and her kid.

He thought about how he didn't even the know the girl's name yet.

But at least now he understood her motivation. Ben looked down at his GPS and saw the only thing on the map, where the girl disappeared to any were the words 'Niima Trailer Park'.

And somehow that only made him feel worse than he already did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's January but hey, celebrate Christmas whenever I say.  
> _____________________________________
> 
> UPDATE 1/28: Just wanna thank everyone in the comments section for all your compliments. I'm more than welcome to ideas and suggestions (particularly for the Reylo stuff) since I just realized that my writer's block might be worse for the next chaps. I do know where the plot is going but I feel like this story needs a bit more meat to get us there.
> 
> Thank you very much.


	4. Open

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all once again for the support. I was scared that I would be stuck on this chap but I managed to write this all in one. Gonna try and make this a weekend project. I already have another idea for a Reylo fic but I'm gonna wait till I'm deep knees in this one before starting. Hope you enjoy.

Ever since Christmas, Rey had been grappling with paranoia as to whether or not Ben would reveal what she had revealed to him that night. It was almost surreal for her to expose her secrets to the enemy. No doubt something he could use to his advantage if he wanted her and the baby out of the picture for good.

It was hard to make contact with Leia or Han as the holidays began to wind down and the winter weather made leaving the trailer park near impossible. She had never been more grateful for the snacks and gifts she got from Christmas to get her through this rough patch of time.

She had been noticing Unkar peering through the blind of the living room window a lot lately. This was despite the fact she often never gave a shit what he did. But recently he seemed to become very paranoid. Chances were it had to do what whatever seedy activities he was involved in, some that were bound to make him many enemies.

“There's a weirdo out there,” he told her one day. “Don't look like he live around here and he's been watching our house.”

 _'It couldn't be'_ , Rey thought. Ben had dropped her off really close to the trailer park. She realized now he could have easily put the pieces together that she lived here. But why in the world would he be stalking her around here? What was he up to?

“I've had enough of this!” Unkar threw the front door open and started chasing the man grabbing him by the back of the collar.

Rey ran out after him. She had to see. It would be suicide if…

Her heart almost sank in relief that the man Unkar had by his bloated fist was a complete stranger...an older man in a trench coat. 

“What are you doing here?! Why are you watching us?!”

The man wasn't saying anything. Might have to do with the fact that Unkar was nearly blocking his ability to breathe.

“Don't think I know a P.I. when I see one?”

“Let him go, Unkar,” Rey yelled out. Even if she did not know the man, she still did not want to see any innocent people having to deal with Unkar's wrath.

The man was being held inches from the ground. “Now get outta here before I crush your skull in!”

The second Unkar loosened his grip, the man ran for his life out of the trailer park. Moments later Rey could hear a car speeding away.

Unkar had failed to take notice of what seemed like a slip of paper that had appeared in the snow, but Rey did not. As soon as he turned back towards the trailer, Rey quickly picked it up. The other side was a photo but not of what she had expected.

It was of her...and Han...and Leia.

She recognized the outside of the restaurant they were standing in and how small her baby bump had been. This photo was just from a few months ago, when they all first met.

So Unkar had been right. That man was a private investigator.

One sent by Ben himself.

Rey wasn't going to take this lying down.

 

\------------- 

 

It took an hour of research at the library before Rey was able to find Ben Solo's work place. It was hard because he went by a different name apparently. 

She thought to herself as she took the bus into the city that the name Kylo Ren sounded pretty stupid.

And she didn't know what First Order was, a bank maybe? She thought the logo seemed familiar as she entered the lobby into the luxurious glass building but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Rey had no problem walking up to the security desk and asking if she could see this so-called Kylo Ren...until the guard started chuckling at her. “Miss, you can't expect to just come in here and demand a meeting with him.”

“Oh he'll want to see me,” she said. “Just tell him it's Rey.”

She sat on a bench in the lobby with the minor pain of the baby constantly kicking against her. In the hour that passed, Rey must have gone to the bathroom at least five times.

But soon enough, Ben Solo had come down to the lobby. He was unpleasantly surprised to see her. “How did you find me?”

“At least, I didn't have to hire someone,” she said, taking out the crumpled P.I. picture from her pocket. “Unlike you.”

Ben was shocked when Rey threw the picture at her face. A security guard standing nearby looked ready to move in on them but Ben waved him away.

“Why are you hounding me?!” Rey demanded. “Are you that desperate to be rid of us?!”

“Keep it down,” Ben whispered.

“Or what? You've must have told Han and Leia already.”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because I want this to work BEN. They're the only ones I want to adopt this baby! And no one should have to put up with you to make that happen. Do you hear...ow!” The move was instinct. Rey found herself clutching her side below the hip.

It better not be what she thought it was.

“Goddamit!” Ben supported Rey to keep her from collapsing. “Do we have to go to a hospital now?”

“No we do not,” Rey argued.

“I think we do.”

“I'm not seven months yet. This can't...” She gave a cry of pain. This time, Rey was starting to sound really scared.

She couldn't fight off Ben, who was now helping her out of the building and into the same black car she had ridden in before.

“Who do I call?” Ben demanded as they got closer to the nearest hospital.

“Maz…,” Rey groaned. “Maz Kanata.”

Ben groaned. “Are you serious? You don't want me to call whoever that man is you live with?”

“No! You call Maz and no one else, okay?”

“Fine!” Ben had nothing against Maz, but she was still a close friend of his father's. Han would no doubt hear of what happened, and he would also hear that his son was with Rey.

He made the call to Maz brief and to the point while Rey was in the emergency room. After a long enduring hour, the doctor had returned wheeling Rey in a wheelchair.

“Nothing to worry about it,” the man assured Ben. “It's just Braxton-Hicks but at this point in the pregnancy I'd be more careful. Rey tells me she walks a lot. You should be driving her more if I were you. Minimize her physical activity as much as you can.”

The doctor was speaking to Ben as if he was the...

“Sure fine.” The words came out of his mouth.

Maz Kanata finally found them in the waiting room. “Oh Rey! You shouldn't scare me like that.”

“I'm sorry,” she said. “It's okay now. Just a false alarm.”

“I should hope so. But Han and Leia should hear.” She looked over at Ben. “I see you two have met.”

“Yeah...” Ben felt like he was in a nightmare he was desperate to end. “I'll take her home,” he said suddenly. 

This surprised Maz. “If you insist, Ben. I'll see you again soon, Rey.”

Rey wouldn't admit it infront of Maz, but she had been very grateful for Ben's offer. He knew where she lived now so there was no hiding from him anymore.

“We're getting food before you go home,” he said. “Don't argue with me on that.”

Ben drove them to a small cafe where he seemed to make sure she ordered something plentiful and not just a measly snack.

“What kind of name is Kylo Ren anyway?” Rey asked him just for the fun of it as she was enjoying her food too much.

“It's for my work. Ben Solo is nowhere near intimidating enough when you're threatening to foreclose people's property.”

“So that's what you do,” said Rey. It sounded right in her mind that he worked to destroy people's livelihood.

“There's nothing I can do if they don't pay their loans on time.”

“So you must be better off than Han and Leia. Hell, does your boss even care that you're out with me right now?”

“I'm my own boss now,” said Ben. “My old one passed away a few months ago.”

Rey paused in her eating. “Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.”

Ben shook his head. “Don't be. There was no real kinship between us.”

Rey knew it was risky but it was time to ask the big question. She didn't care if Ben lost his cool about it. It was unlikely they would speak again after this anyway. “What do you have against your parents?”

“Nothing,” he said.

“That can't be true.”

“If I hate them for anything it's for leaving me to practically raise myself. Luke wasn't exactly babysitter material...and neither does that ogre you live with. He's not your dad, is he?”

“He said my parents paid him to leave me there...in that trailer park...I have no memory of anything before that.”

Ben was surprised. He had never known anyone so desperate to be rid of their child that they would pay off someone else to care for them. Luke took care of him for free. Even Rey was giving up her baby wanting nothing in return.

“I know you still think I'm bailing out,” Rey said. “I might only be 18 but I know what I'm doing...more for her than what my parents ever did for me.”

A twinge of guilt seemed to be building up in Ben ever since her reveal at Christmas. She might have profited off the sex but she wasn't looking to profit off this baby like he initially thought. Han and Leia may have seem wealthy but they weren't without their own financial struggles from time to time...some of which he had a hand in creating.

But he wasn't going to tell her that.

\------------- 

The next time Rey met with Maz again, she was grateful that the subject of Ben was rarely brought up. It was now time to prepare for what was to come. Rey and Leia began meeting again for Lamaze classes and additional checkups became a must after her most recent scare.

Leia had invited Rey back to her house for dinner one Sunday evening. Her seventh month of pregnancy was coming close to an end, without any new problems developing.

“I brought you over so you could see this.” Leia had brought her upstairs, which she had yet to see. She counted about a dozen doors in the hallway it seemed. Leia opened one and the afternoon sun illuminated the entire place.

The room was beautiful. The walls were painted yellow with colorful shapes hanging from the ceiling. All the gifts that Rey saw on Christmas were out and set up with a giant white crib in the middle.

She didn't know why Leia was showing her this other than she wanted her to know that the baby would be okay. But Rey had already known that.

“I had another reason for inviting you, Rey. Maz told me you wanted a closed adoption. But, I want to know the truth: is that really what you want?”

It wasn't a matter of want. It was a matter of choice. And right now Rey was hoping that somehow Leia didn't find out about the conception… “I'm just...” Rey was nervous. “I'm trying to do the right thing. That's all.”

“I know you think that. I just want you to know that it doesn't have to be that way. Han and I don't want to keep her from you completely. She's going to ask questions...why we're so old for one, and about you, a lot more about you.”

“Would she even want to know?” Rey asked.

“If she's anything like me, she would. You might not know this Rey, but I was sort of adopted myself. Raised by godparents. I never knew my mother and father until I was older and that wasn't pretty.”

This shocked Rey. She never would imagined Leia having a background as messed up as hers. “What happened?”

“A murder-suicide, apparently. My mother and father ran off together. No one heard from them for a while. They seemed to get into a lot of mischief, drugs and the like. It was a miracle Luke and I came out normally from all of it. One night my mother was near her due date and my father just suddenly snapped. No one knew what resulted from it, but it was bad. They were able to cut me and Luke out but the doctors...they couldn't save my mother. When the police finally found my father, he was dead from a self inflicted bullet wound.”

“Oh my god.” Rey couldn't believe the story was even real.

“My father had a step brother who took Luke in. He wasn't in a good financial state to care for both of us. So I was taken in by a good friend of my mother's. Once we were older, we were told the truth, and that's how Luke and I were able to meet up again. I wanted to tell you this so you know. You have nothing to be ashamed of Rey, no matter where you or this baby came from. What matters is everything that comes after it.”

From the crib Leia picked up the knit doll that Rey had made. “I want you to hold onto this until the baby comes. I want to tell her that you gave it to her personally. And until then, I want you to reconsider being a part of the baby's life...for both of you.”

Could she really? Rey didn't know. She was crying now and Leia didn't seem to mind it. But she was still too scared to tell her. If the circumstances were any different, if Unkar wasn't a total dick, she would have done her best. She would have provided it the love and protection she was raised never knowing. 

These past 7 months, with the baby growing inside her, were the first in her lifetime in which she didn't felt so alone. She thought that after the birth, that adjusting to the loneliness again would be easy.

Han and Leia changed all of that. Now they were practically incorporating her into their family, not the perfect family by any means, but a family she would have killed for as a child.

\------------- 

By February, it was time to start counting down the days…

The baby was doing very well. She just needed to hang in there for a month and a half more.

But one early morning, Rey was woken by a constant banging on her bedroom door.

“Up, girl!”

The room was so small that Rey only had to stand out of her bed just to reach the door knob. “What do you want?” she groaned. It was too dark for it to be morning yet.

“I want you to pack up and get ready to leave in an hour.”

“What?” She thought she misheard him.

“You heard me, hurry up!”

“Where are we going?” Rey demanded.

“Across state lines...” Unkar's face was looking more and more sour. “I know you've been lying to me. You never met with my guys. So now I have to take matters into my own hands. There's a nice place set up for you. They'll take care of ya and once the kid's out and I get paid, you can come back home.”

“No!” Rey cried. 

“I told you I'm not letting you keep that stupid brat! It's hard enough having to deal with you!”

“I already have a family who's going to adopt her. You can't do this!”

“The hell I can! Now do as I say, or you're going to be in deep shit!”

Rey watched Unkar storm out of the house.

She needed a way out. She wasn't going to give this child up to strangers and risk never seeing her again. 

Rey quickly got dressed and then grabbed a plastic bag and packed whatever she could, including the clothes she got for Christmas and the knit doll.

She cautiously stepped outside the trailer to look for Unkar. He was busy fixing the pickup he planned to take.

Never had Rey been more thankful for the dark, as she snuck around the trailer hoping not to be seen.

If Unkar wasn't going to let Rey decide this baby's fate for her, then she had no other choice but to run away.


	5. The Last Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING FOR THIS CHAP:
> 
> One of my tags is going to hit hard in this chapter.
> 
> I don't consider myself a writer of great drama but this be the moment where shit hits the fan and I just hope that the impact gives the right punch.
> 
> Again, you've been warned.

She huffed her way to the bus stop, hoping to give Unkar the slip. But just as the bus was approaching she could hear him yelling for her.

Neither of them were in good physical shape, but Rey managed to get on the bus just as Unkar spotted her, and the doors closed before he could reach them. The only comfort Rey had was knowing that he wouldn't pursue...not unless he wanted his whole plan to be exposed and to get arrested anyway.

“FINE! DON'T EVER COME BACK HERE AGAIN!!! YOU HEAR ME?!” She could hear him yell and even swore he threw a rock at the bus.

On the ride to D'Qar, Rey's feelings became a conflicted mix: happiness that she was free from Unkar and her miserable life in the trailer park, worry that she was now homeless. How she was going to deal with the latter she had no idea. Han and Leia had already done too much for her and the baby to trouble them with this. She thought about calling Maz but Rey didn't have a dime left in her name left for even that.

Her plan instead was to head to Han's garage and use their phone while she spent the day there. It had been so long since winter weather kept her away, it made her excited to head back.

But when Rey finally arrived at the familiar structure, she wasn't expecting the garage to be so empty. She saw no cars outside waiting to be fixed. All the garage doors remained closed or gated. And there were padlocks on all the doors and entryways getting inside.

“Hello?!” Rey called out.

“Forget it, kid.”

To her relief, Han had come. But he had a sad smile knowing that Rey was about to be let down in some way. He pointed to a sign on one of the closed garage doors that stated in bold letters ' _Out Of Business_ '. Below that was a larger sign stating:

' _Foreclosed Property for Sale or Lease. Contact First Order Financing_ '.

“Han?” Rey asked. “Did Ben do this?”

“'Fraid so.” Han sighed. “Don't get upset. The garage just wasn't doing as well as it used to. It was gonna happen. And borrowing money from my son...that was a mistake on my part.”

“I thought you and Leia were...”

“Rich?” Han chuckled. “We do alright. Getting him involved was the only way I could see him more often ever since he went into that business. Then we heard his boss died, and Leia and I got too hopeful for our own good. Thought he'd be a better man when he took over. Instead, our mortgage went up. We're lucky our house is paid off at least. This will just give me more time for Brie.”

The name intrigued Rey. “Brie?”

“Leia and I been thinking about names. She wanted to name her Breha, after her godmother but I thought it sounded too old-fashioned. So we came to a compromise. What do you think?”

“I think it's a wonderful name,” said Rey.

“Good. Now, I'm gonna see what's left to salvage here while there's still daylight. Wanna help me out?”

“But the place is all locked up.”

“I got a few tricks up my sleeve.” Han reached up the top frame of one the garage doors and pulled out a small icepick. “Always good for emergencies,” he said as he used the object to pick the padlock on the front door. It unlocked with success.

Inside, Rey was surprised to find one car still remained inside…the Millennium Falcon. But the thing was gathering dust. “We did our best with it but it's a goner, I think,” said Han. This upset Rey the most. Working on that Falcon had given her a sense of purpose and it brought her closer to Han. She hated the thought of the next owner like taking it apart or tearing it down.

She helped Han boxed whatever items they could and load them into his car. Ben had apparently shut down all the utilities, so they had to work with no heat and no electricity to boot. All the while, she tried to ignore the pain in her belly, a pain that went away and seemed to come back every hour.

The sun was setting by the time Han's car was loaded with the last of what he could take. “You still need to come over for dinner for one more night before the kid pops.” His eyes went towards the plastic shopping bag that Rey held in her hand. He recognized the clothes he had given her for Christmas. “How's tonight for you?”

Rey looked away shyly. Learning that Han and Leia weren't as wealthy as she thought they were made her feel like even more of a burden after all they had done for her. “I'm okay...I think I should go home now.”

Han had gotten use to Rey going off on her own at this point, but deep down he was starting to get a bit worried given her condition and all. Still all he said was “alright, be careful out there”.

“Always am,” Rey said back.

Night came and Rey was walking around the city by herself with no real destination. She was grateful that she and Han had ordered pizza at the garage. It was enough to get her through tomorrow anyway. She started to worry however when the pain in her belly was starting to get more frequent.

Then the air started getting misty and then icy. She started looking for a place to seek shelter. Her eyes scanned a familiar cafe down the block. The same one Ben had taken her to that one time…PORGS she recalled was the name.

She got inside grateful for the warmth. It only started to get uncomfortable when it looked like the guy behind the counter was expecting her to order something.

“It's you.”

Rey looked over to a booth on the right, eying a familiar old man sitting there with his coffee. She waddled over to him. “Luke, is it?”

He nodded. “Have a seat, Rey.”

She could barely wedge herself into the small space of the booth across the table from Luke. They began making awkward conversation as they barely met each other only once before. 

“Do you live around here?” she asked him.

“No, I'm from Ach-too, out in the middle of nowhere. I only come around here to visit my sister.”

This made Rey recall what she overheard him speak of at the Christmas party...how he felt it was his fault that Ben didn't come.

“Back at Christmas...” she told him. “Ben was going to come...to the party. I thought you should know.”

Luke didn't seemed surprised. He barely reacted to this news. 

“I've met him a few times. I know it's not my place to intrude on family affairs...”

“It's okay,” said Luke. “From the way I hear Leia talk about you, she already considers you family.”

Rey smiled.

“We all made mistakes...with Ben,” he explained. “Leia and Han worked themselves to death when they first had him. They wanted to give him the best in life, like any parent would. He got dumped on me during school vacations a lot. I didn't mind it. We were getting along okay at the start. It's when kids become teenagers, same old story...” He took a sip of his coffee. “Long story short, I lost my temper with him and then I just snapped. I broke his nose and that was that. He was already 18 by then, but the damage was already done. Once he was able to leave for college, Ben was hardly in contact with any of us after that...not even after he came back home an independent man.”

The story shocked Rey. “Is that why he feels like he's being replaced?”

“I wouldn't be surprised if he was conditioned to believe he was.”

Before she could ask who could have possibly conditioned Ben to think in such a way, Rey felt a sudden sharp pain...and then another…and another.

“You okay?”

Rey squirmed her way out of the booth. “Yeah, I think I just need to...augh!” She was able to stand up for a second but then suddenly crouched over.

Luke came over to her side. “I think you're going into labor.”

“No!” Rey cried. “It's too soon!” The pain hit hard again and Rey couldn't keep the cries of pain from escaping her no matter how hard she tried.

“I don't think this baby cares. My car's outside. I'll take you to the hospital.”

Luke was helping Rey to his car the best he could. But Rey was finding it harder and harder to move with each sharp pain that struck. Her breathing became irregular and it was only till they were on the road did Rey finally accept that she was having contractions and that her breathing was her natural reaction towards what was to come.

The weather was getting cold and slick. Luke nearly slipped off the roads several times, while trying to contact Han, Leia, and Maz at the same time.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally got the hospital, and just as they were about to step inside, Rey's water broke.

She was wheeled straight to delivery, despite her resistance.

“Rey?!” 

Rey was getting dizzy as she was being moved down the hall fast. Maz's face as she appeared and ran alongside her was a blur, but a reassuring one.

“I'm not due yet, Maz.” Rey started crying. 

“I know.” Maz kept her calm and assured. “But it needs to happen now, for both your sakes.”

“No wait...Leia!” Rey remembered that it was Leia who was supposed to be in the delivery room with her for this moment. That was what all those Lamaze classes were for. “We can't do this without her!”

“They're on their way, dear. But the roads are bad. They won't make it in time. Do you want me to go with you instead?”

The contractions were getting worse and Rey knew at this point, there would be no other choice. “Yes...please!”

“I'll tell Luke to wait for them.” And for the next few minutes Rey was alone in delivery with just the doctors. Maz returned dressed in scrubs. 

The delivery room was over-stimulating...too many bright lights blinding her and all the noises from the doctors and machines. The pain just made everything worse.

Rey had no idea how loud she was being herself crying in pain. She had a hard time hearing Maz's instructions. She then realized that the harder she squeezed Maz's hand, the more likely she would break it.

“Almost there,” she finally heard.

One more push and then another.

Rey suddenly felt numb. Was it over?

There was a silence. Where's the baby cry? They always starting crying out the womb didn't they?

“She's not breathing,” said one of the doctors.

“Get her to ICU now!”

Rey was confused. Who wasn't breathing? It couldn't be herself. Was it Maz? Did she faint or something?

But Maz came over to Rey and kept assuring her it was going to be okay.

“What happened?” Rey asked. “Did I…?”

“The baby's out but she wasn't looking very good.”

“Oh no!” The hormones kicked in, not in a good way that usually came after childbirth. How was she going to tell Leia?

“They're doing all they can right now. You'll see.”

Despite Maz's assurances, Rey couldn't help but feel she was to blame somehow. She tried, God knows she tried to do everything right for Leia, for the baby. But it wasn't enough. It was never enough and she should have known better.

\------------- 

“Slow down, Han!” Leia kept demanding. She was more worried about the weather than anything else.

“No can do. You think I want to miss the birth of another kid, like I did with Ben?”

“That wasn't your fault,” she tried to assure him.

But Han still felt guilty. “I was busy doing what I thought were more important things. I should have been there...for a lot. I'm starting to wonder if Ben was right. If maybe I'll just screw things up again.”

“We'll do better, Han. After everything Rey knows, she would have chosen someone else already if she didn't believe we could do this.”

“Yeah, I guess you're right.”

They were almost there but still not soon enough for either of them. “It makes me wonder why Rey never speaks about her family. I'm starting to suspect that she has none.”

“Or a home for that matter…,” said Han, recalling how he had seen her earlier that day…or all the days before that. Now he was kicking himself for not realizing it before. “Think we could spare one of our half a dozen guestrooms for a while?”

They both began to chuckle, but it was cut short by blinding lights and a sudden horn blare coming from the driver side.

Han hit the brakes and tried to swerve hard as he could.

But he had underestimated the slickness of the roads.

 

\------------- 

 

Ben was getting no sleep tonight, stuck late in his office doing pointless work. He was starting to question whether taking over was really the best choice. He had been the successor but it was still his choice to have accepted.

Rey had been on his mind, much to his annoyance. The baby wasn't due yet, so he tried his best not to be concerned.

His office phone rang, it was the security desk in the lobby.

“Yeah?”

The security guard told him he had an urgent call and was just doing his duty not have him bothered unless it truly was an emergency.

“Alright, patch me through.”

He was one minute into the call...the police department...they called him by his actual name.

That wasn't good.

His hand holding the phone began to quiver then he completely lost his grip.

The words he heard from the receiver. It wasn't….it couldn't be true...

 

\------------- 

 

Rey must have passed out, from exhaustion...from worry. She had woken up inside a smaller, regular hospital room with an IV attached to her. She looked out the window and saw the sky was getting a bit brighter. The dawn of the next day was soon to begin. She had been in here all night apparently.

Maz finally entered the room and her face was somber...very somber.

She feared she knew what that meant.

“The baby...is she…?”

“Oh Rey, no.” Maz gave her a sad smile. “She made it, dear. She's breathing on her own now and she's already screaming like mad. The doctors will want to keep her here for a bit just to keep an eye out.”

Relief that Rey had never felt before over took her entire body. She could jump out of bed now if she wasn't feeling so sore. “Thank god! I wouldn't have known how to tell Han and Leia! Have they seen her yet?”

Maz's face dropped instantly, to what it had been before. “Rey...” It was monotone, more serious this time. “Han and Leia never made it to the hospital.”

Rey didn't understand.

“There was an accident.”

Her mind was screaming ' _NO! It couldn't..._ ' But Maz's face and demeanor was telling her everything that she refused to be true. It wasn't real. They had to be late. They had to only be injured...in a different hospital maybe. They would come soon.

Both her mouth had uttered one horrid question she didn't want answered.

“B-b-both of them?”

Maz's nod was weak.

The hallway began to echo with the screaming and wailing of what sounded like a grieving mother.

But Rey was no grieving mother. She was grieving child, who had lost her family all over again.


	6. After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey makes choices (and gets stubborn as well).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Rey/Ben interaction coming. Thank you so much for all the reviews!

Ben walked the dark dreary halls of the morgue alone. He tried to shake off the feelings he couldn't control. He held on, having to look into the two body bags and having to admit out loud that they **were** his parents.

This wasn't how things were supposed to go.

And then before he could even escape from it, there at the entrance doors was his uncle. Ben almost seemed ready for a fight on instinct alone. But Luke didn't move. He merely looked upon Ben with sad eyes. “Did you see them?”

“Yeah...” Ben couldn't let himself go soft this quick. “What was so important that they had to kill themselves for it?”

Luke frowned at him, feeling appalled by how he had asked that question. “Rey had her baby.”

Ben felt a bit foolish. He didn't think the kid would come so early.

Finally Luke turned his back to him. “But I guess it doesn't matter now. At least you don't have to worry about feeling replaced anymore.”

He walked out of the morgue leaving his nephew alone without a second thought.

\------------- 

“You have options, Rey.”

Maz knew she wasn't listening. She had been doing her best to console her all morning, but Rey now seemed lost, unable to think, almost broken in a sense. “It shouldn't be difficult to find a new family for her. Though it might take some time, since we'll have to start all over again.”

Rey had almost forgotten that she had a baby down the hall, who just hours ago was struggling for her own life. She had never planned for this scenario. Han and Leia were all she had in mind. They were the end goal. What else could there be? Unless…

“The foster home?” asked Rey. “Will she have to go to a foster home?”

“It will only be temporary,” Maz tried to assured her. “And you'll still have a say in who takes her...”

But all Rey could think about was her own childhood dumped in a ghastly trailer park, and all the false promises that a family would come for her...if not her own family...at least another. Everything she did for the baby was to avoid that kind of fate. Now it had been all for nothing.

“I need time...” It was a plea more than a request.

“Of course. I'll do what I can.”

Rey didn't want to leave her hospital bed. It would make the gravity of the situation all too real. The doctors informed her that she could be released in a day, the baby in two. Even hearing the news of how well she was doing wasn't enough to lift Rey's spirits. 

As hard it was, Maz had granted her other request to fetch the local D'Qar newsletter so that Rey could read the official announcement of Han and Leia's deaths for herself. It even mention how they had planned to adopt a baby soon. Little did they know that the child was here. And Luke was already having to carry the burden of getting the funeral arrangements together.

She wondered where Ben was in all of this. Did he even care?

In either case. She needed to be there. She needed to be at the funeral.

It felt like a rude awakening when the next morning past and she had to change back into her street clothes.

“The doctors have one last favor of you,” Maz said. “The baby is well enough that she can be breast-fed now. It's up to you if you want do this yourself or if you want to pump.”

“You mean I can see her?”

“Of course.” 

Maz led her down the hall to the nursery. There were about eight other babies in their respective little cribs in there. But they were all pretty big and healthy. 

The nurse picked up what seemed like a bunched up pink blanket and brought it over to Rey, who was gripping to the armrests of her chair. When she took the bundle in her arms, Rey took a deep breath.

A part of her wanted to see...a part of her didn't. But doing so might give her the answers she was looking for.

She moved a bit a blanket and found a scrounge-y little face behind it, almost like a naked mole rat. It made her giggle a bit, or perhaps it was hormones doing that. The doctors had been right about how well she looked. The kid was already struggling to open her eyes. But what really intrigued Rey the most was how the baby looked more like a miniature version of herself. 

Only she knew why that disappointed her.

The nurse guided her through the feeding and even she was amazed by the baby latched on so quickly. “I thought this was going to take some time.”

When the feeding was done and the baby was returned to the nursery, Rey spent the next hour in the hall looking through the glass dividing them. The future was weighing heavily on her mind. It didn't look bright for either of them. And yet Han and Leia had been the only ones who ever had any faith in her.

Rey knew then what they would have wanted for her...her and her daughter.

“Maz...I think we need to talk.”

Soon Rey was sitting down over a pile of papers, going back and forth in her mind as to whether this might be the nuttiest thing she would ever do. Maz stood by her and kept her patience, never judging, never questioning. “They will be happy no matter what you do, Rey.”

Rey's hand was shaking like it never had before when she finally signed her name to it.

The baby was handed over to her in a carrier and Rey pulled out the knit doll from her bag. The child grabbed onto it, just like that cat video she once saw in the library, a natural instinct.

And somehow, Rey knew it was all leading up to this, in the cruelest possible way and yet still.

“It's okay, Brie,” she assured her. “You're coming home with me.”

But there was still a funeral to attend.

\------------- 

The funeral defied everything that Rey would see in the movies. The weather was beautiful, slightly cool, yet with plenty of sunlight shining on endless hills of graves.

She shouldn't be surprised by how many were in attendance. Han and Leia had been beloved by many. They had made a name for themselves in the D'Qar community. Rey kept a low profile among them despite having Brie with her. She did see Finn, Rose, and Poe and it made her happier than she had been in quite a while. They were happy with her decision to keep the baby.

Things quiet down again when they watched the caskets being carried. Luke was helping with Leia's, Chewie with Han's. Still, Rey could not spot Ben anywhere.

Little did she knew, that Ben was leaning against a tree far away from all the seats but still close enough to hear whatever words there may be. Luke had not invited him to be a pallbearer. But Ben knew his presence would already be an unwelcome sight as it was. The tree's shadows kept him from being seen by anyone much to his relief.

The pastor was giving his usual spiel...arms of God...eternity...some stuff that he never took seriously anyway. His ears caught the sound of a baby cry and he groaned. Who was the asshat that brought a crying kid to a funeral that likely never knew his parents?

In the front row of seats, Rey was feeling all eyes on her. Brie was crying over the sermon and she was doing everything to calm her down but nothing was working. She was only getting worse. 

Rey was starting to feel embarrassed, ashamed. It was bad enough to be the only one there wearing street clothes and not the usual funeral attire. And it was becoming clear that Brie wasn't going to stop and even she couldn't make out the pastor's words anymore.

She got up whispered apologies to those around here as she took Brie down the aisle.

Ben was shocked when he finally spotted her. He knew Rey would attend the funeral, but what was she doing with that baby?

He failed to find her when it all ended. She seemed to have disappeared entirely. Ben tried to make an exit himself, but Maz was suddenly standing right infront of him. 

“Are you alright, Ben?”

“Yeah...I dunno,” he shrugged. “Why do you care?”

“As a friend of your parents, I think I should.”

Ben had nothing against Maz. He thinks he may have met her once or twice at a family gathering past but had little collection of it. He only knew she was the one who had originally introduced Rey to his family.

“If you're here to give me crap for not doing anything for the funeral, forget it. Not my fault. You're already taunting me by having that kid here.”

Maz chuckled. “Oh Ben, that wasn't my doing. That was Rey's choice.”

“Of course. One last goodbye before dumping her off on another family?”

Maz shook her head getting aggravated with him. “You're daft, boy! Rey has decided to keep the baby!”

And that finally shut Ben up.

 

\------------- 

 

Rey regretted leaving the cemetery completely. She should have told Maz that she was going “home”.

But where was “home” now? The trailer park was not an option. If Unkar didn't try to take the baby from her again, he would have still booted them both out.

When evening came and the clouds where gathering, Rey found herself wandering D'Qar with few options. It was a Sunday night when everything was closed up early.

Closed? That had given Rey an idea. 

The air turned to drizzle when she finally arrived with Brie at Han's old garage. She was grateful that it remained untouched since the day of his death. She remembered the ice pick on the garage door. “YES!” she cried out.

It took five restless minutes to pick the front door. But when it finally opened for her, Rey had never been more relieved. The downpour arrived just as soon as she got her daughter inside. She flipped the light-switch but got no light.

“Shit!” Rey had forgotten that Ben cut off all the utilities. One setback to her plans already.

The hospital had kindly given Rey a small bag of baby essentials. From that, she was able to give Brie her first diaper change. Judging from the smell, Rey should have known that was she had needed during the funeral.

This was already getting to a bad start.

“I'm sorry,” Rey told her. “I know this is bad. I suck at this already.”

Once in a clean diaper, Brie was calming down and falling asleep in Rey's arms.

She took her to the breakroom. It remained the only room in the garage that wasn't completely emptied out. There was still an old couch and a few boxes of items, which Rey hoped would be useful. The garage was cold without any heat and Rey could not find an extra blanket for herself within the boxes. 

Normally she would comfort herself with the thought that she had been through worst times than this. But this time, having to be responsible for another, was just putting added stress on her situation.

Rey had no money. The baby bag would only last for a few more days. Her milk would dry up long before that.

“I should have asked them for help when I had the chance,” she confessed to their daughter. “I'm so sorry. We'll get through this okay?”

Rey could hear the rain banging on the metal roof of the garage. Brie seemed to be lulled by it thankfully and cried no more for the night. Rey found herself getting drowsy as well.

**BANG! BANG! BANG!**

The sound caused Rey to sit up. The sudden movement, put Brie into crankiness.

As soon as Rey quieted her, she waited.

**BANG! BANG! BANG!**

It wasn't the gunshots that she often heard at the trailer park thankfully. It sounded more like metal.

Rey was quiet as a mouse, carrying Brie cautiously through the garage.

The banging continued. Someone was outside banging on the large garage doors. Someone was trying to get in. And Brie's crying likely alerted them to a human presence. 

She put Brie down in the carrier and looked through the boxes in the breakroom. She got hold of a rust old wrench. The best item she could find, unfortunately but it would do.

Her need to protect her daughter, ran through her veins, as she opened the front door and tried to strike the wrench at whoever was on the other side.

She missed.

And now she was being grabbed by the arm back into the garage.

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!”

Rey lost her wrench. Standing over her was a completely drench Ben Solo.

“What are you doing here?!” She demanded.

“I should be asking you that!”

Rey pushed Ben off of her. 

“Are you serious?” Ben asked her. “You're going to raise a kid here? With nothing? No food? No money?”

“Why do you even care? You blame me, don't you?! I can see it in your eyes. You blame me for what happened to your parents!”

Ben was looking like an agitated animal. “I went to the trailer park to find you. Had to deal to with some gross bastard screaming about how you stabbed him in the back and threw you out. I was almost going to punch him in the face.”

“I wish you had,” she said calmly.

“You need to get out here,” said Ben.

“I'm not leaving.”

“Don't be stupid! I'm trying to help you!”

“Well, I don't need it!”

“Dammit, Rey. Stop being so stubborn!”

“I don't care if you own this building. Call the police if you have to...but my daughter and I are staying put!”

The arguing was causing Brie to wail and Rey was no longer putting up with Ben's shit. The only way they would be coming out of this garage is if they were pried out.

As soon as Rey went to her daughter, Ben had given up. He angrily stormed out of the garage, slamming the front door behind him.

The slam was the most comforting sound to Rey. With his absence, Rey and Brie could finally get some much needed rest after the longest day of their lives.

\------------- 

Rey would wake from the couch hours later, to an unusual rumbling. Her eyes were squinting from the abnormal presence of light. It was yet to be sunrise.

She looked up and saw the ceiling lamp was light on. She could feel heat coming from the nearby vent, the source of the rumbling. The lights throughout the garage were on and functioning.

Rey went over to the breakroom sink and turned the faucet. There was actual water coming out.

She had come to the conclusion that Ben had the utilities turned back on, but wasn't sure if it was something to actually be grateful for.


	7. The Offering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's block got me bad again. So sorry about that. I feel patience is being lost which would explain the drop in reviews lately. I will look to remedy this in the near future.
> 
> Also: AO3 has been blocked at work. Be forewarned that comment approvals Mon-Fri will take longer than the weekends as a result. If you've had any issues beyond that with comment approval let me know. I tend to approve all of them really.

The rains from the night before came to an end and Rey could step out into the breaking sun, with little Brie in her arms. The grass surrounding the garage had grown massive since the garage had closed and the place was left abandoned. Yet Rey didn't mind it. With the sounds of nature surrounding her, it was as if she was living in the solitude of the forests...tranquil and peaceful, a welcoming feeling after everything that has happened.

That peace became disrupted by the sounds of two approaching vehicles from the road.

She recognized the slick black car that belonged to Ben. Behind him was a small moving van, and that's when Rey panicked. They were coming to empty the rest of the garage...to get her and Brie out once and for all. She fled back into the garage and blocked the front door.

A minute later she could hear Ben approaching and trying to get the blasted thing to open. “Damn it, Rey. What are you doing?”

“I told you, Brie and I aren't leaving!” She yelled from the other side of the door.

“At least open the door so we can bring this stuff in.”

“In?” Rey slowly undid the locks and opened the door only an inch, so she could only see Ben eye to eye.

“Try not to claw these guys while they come in,” said Ben. “...or the police WILL have to get involved.”

Rey finally opened the door whole. Behind Ben were two movers who were already carrying a large box into the garage. Ben pointed the men over to the large empty portion of the garage. “Just over there. She can move it later.”

Rey was confused. Perhaps Ben wanted to use the place as storage and was working around her squatting here. But then on the next trip, the two movers came in with a crib. Rey remembered that wooden crib. It had been the same one Leia had set up in her nursery.

“Ben, what's going on? What is all of this?”

“It's all the baby stuff from Han and Leia's,” he said. “I'm selling the house and I have no use for it.”

“Oh.”

Ben had been fuddling with a small paper bag he had gripped in his hands. “I...I brought you some bagels. I don't know if you like that.”

God, she didn't realize until now how little she had eaten since she was released from the hospital. She had hoped to find free food at the wake but Brie had kept her too occupied. Now it was only a matter of time before she ran out of milk for her child and she was willing to take anything.

Her hand was nearly reaching for the paper bag but her childhood sensor started kicking in and she quickly pulled it away.

“What's wrong? Don't like bagels?”

Rey shook her head. “No...I...I can't take your charity.” For one thing, Rey had not been used to such a thing, not until she entered Han and Leia's lives. Before that charity was more of an exchange. If she was given something, she was expected to pay in return. She learned that fact quickly in her early childhood and made sure to avoid it whenever possible.

“I'm not here for charity, Rey. If you want to stay here, fine. I can't stop you. I'm taking the sale sign down. This place is decrepit and it's a bad location. It wouldn't have sold well anyway.”

“Why do this then?” she asked him. “Is it because we're no longer a threat to you now that your parents are dead? If that's it, then just leave!”

“And how are you and your daughter going to live? Maz won't be able to help you forever. And if anyone were to find out you're living here like this, CPS would come and take her away.”

Rey immediately tensed, holding Brie closer to her chest. “You...you wouldn't!”

“I'm not,” Ben argued. He regrettably made it sound like he was threatening her when he wasn't really. He really was not good with these conversations, he'd come to realize. “Just listen to me, Rey. If you don't want charity, then there's a way you can pay me back.”

“How?” Rey was reluctant to ask.

“By coming to work for me.”

“You...you want to offer me a job?”

“A means to provide for your child. It's the best thing you could have right now.”

That much was true. If she hadn't been working for Unkar, she doubt it would have been possible to find work elsewhere. 

“My building has a daycare center. You'll be able to see her anytime you need to.”

“Ben, that's...I'm sure you mean well but, I'm not sure I qualify for anything when I've never finished high school.”

“You can scrub toilets, can you?”

Rey frowned. She should have known that the only job Rey could have with someone like Ben would be low-wage janitorial work.

But Ben smirked. “You'd be surprise at how well First Order pays even the most mediocre of jobs.”

“Will I ever be able to move up from it?”

“Only the best get to do that. That's what my old boss used to always say. But I know when I see potential. So what do you say?” He waved the bag of bagels infront of her again, as it was the physical manifestation of what he was offering her.

This time, Rey with trembling fingers, took the bag.

By the time she was done eating, the movers had departed, leaving behind all the furniture, clothing, and toys, that were provided during the baby shower back at Christmas. She had almost forgotten Ben was still there, sitting across the card table from her as if he had every right to be there.

“My hours are dependent on the bus schedule,” she told him.

“No, they won't. I'll drive you there and back.”

She was surprised. Surely D'Qar was a bit out of the way of his home wasn't it?

“So it's a deal then?” Ben pulled his wallet out of his pocket and placed a small stash of bills infront of Rey. She nearly choked on her last bite of bagels at the sight. She counted at least five bills with the 100 in the corner.

“What's this now?”

“Maternity pay. It's too soon for you to start working yet.” He was pulling something else out of his pockets but Rey was still in shock at the amount of money on the table. “And when you're ready to, you can call me on this.” Ben now placed a small black cellphone alongside the money. It was plain and dated...no Iphone by any means, but it still fascinated Rey as she had never had a cell phone before...never could afford one. “I put my number in there.”

Once Ben had gone, Rey was still in shock at the money in her hands. She still didn't trust him completely, but when it came to Brie, she was have to put those thoughts aside.

 

The first few nights of just her and her daughter were rather anxious. They were pretty isolated from other people and buildings and sudden noises (other than Brie's crying) would bolt Rey awake. Living on her own, caring for a child to boot, was going to take some getting used to.

Still, she felt rather proud, rather hopeful, whenever she took Brie to the small market in D'Qar to buy some food. They would have to make small frequent trips since they had to walk there and back. Over the short amount of time, Rey balanced her solitude between caring for Brie and setting up a nursery in the breakroom. It was making the living area cramped, but Rey had grown up in a bedroom the size of a closet. This was nothing in her mind.

The garage was slowly being transforming into a home with what little she could buy or find. She had managed to get an old TV that she had found working again. She hoped she could do the same with the Millennium Falcon, which was still sitting in the far corner of the garage collecting dust ever since Han's business closed.

She called Maz using the cellphone Ben had given her to let her know that she was okay. She was even able to open up to her about her past living situation with Unkar...what he tried to do and why she had to leave.

“I say you did the right thing leaving him then,” Maz told her. “You're an adult now. He can't hurt either of you anymore.” Maz was even more surprised when Rey told her about the job Ben was giving her as well as advance money. “How generous of him.”

But Rey didn't see it that way. “It just seems weird of him to do this, doesn't it? Why would he want to help me when I was a threat to him?”

“Do you really think that, dear? Seems to me now that I've thought this through...I don't believe Ben was jealous, you see. Of course, he was upset at Han and Leia. But I think he pitied the child.”

“Pity her? All I was trying to do was give Brie a good home!”

“And you meant well,” she assured Rey. “But perhaps Ben didn't see it that way. From his experience, he feared that the child would feel as abandoned as he felt he had been in his parents' care. Funny how much the two of you have in common like that.”

“Yeah...” Rey shrugged.

“I know you have a hard time with charity. Han and Leia have always been kind people. I suggest you give their son a chance. I think it's helping him cope as much as it will help you.”

There were times when Rey had forgotten that Ben was their son. But only because she didn't believe Ben to be capable of grieving. He had shown up at the funeral at least. Could it be that maybe he had been hurting? Rey would never know for sure.

 

Little did she know that Ben had not slept since his parents death. Usually a drink or two would drown his troubles but not even that could soothe him or help him deal. He felt empty...hollow…

He wondered if he should have been a pallbearer. The community probably thought it rude that he hadn't been one. But that was something he could put blame on Luke for, as with many other things.

More than a week had past since then and still sleep was a rarity...a few hours at most a day if he was lucky. It was the thought of the child that would have replaced him...of Rey...of his foolishness to believe that they were pushing him out of his own family.

He was half-awake when his smartphone rang and he was surprised to find Rey's name appear on the screen. “Hello?”

“Hey, Ben...um...I guess I should start work soon, should I?”

“Hold on.” Ben looked at his calendar. “Rey, it's still too soon. You just had the baby ten days ago. Don't moms need about a month or something with their kid before they work again?”

“I know. It's just that...” Rey's voice seem to be faded on the other side of the phone. “Well, I know it's stupid but I just been feeling kinda lonely over here. It's just been me and Brie, and I can't tell if I'm having that after-birth depression or whatever you call it...”

“Post-partum?”

“Yes, that, or I still haven't gotten over Han and Leia being gone. I don't know. I think work could help me.”

“I don't think so. I can't have you start work if you're not feeling your best.” The silence he was hearing from Rey on the other side of the line was making him uncomfortable. “Listen, if you're lonely, I could. I mean, I could come over again.” He felt weird that he was even proposing this not knowing how Rey would even react. His last meeting with her didn't seem all that welcoming.

But then Rey asked him something he didn't expect. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”

 

D'Qar looked beautiful at night with the streets all lit up. Ben felt a bit like a shadow walking alongside Rey. But she was happy to be pushing Brie in the same stroller that Leia hoped to take her in. They had gone to dinner and Ben insisted on paying, despite the whole affair coming off too much like a date. Friends had always been a rarity for Rey. And Ben...well...he was to be her boss soon. She might as well be on good terms with him while she still could.

“Are you happy living alone?” he asked her.

Rey had given him an assuring smile. “I am now. I feel better now that I know I can care for Brie on my own.”

“You'll feel even better once you start working. Just do one thing for me though.”

“What's that, Ben?”

“Don't put your work before your kid. You won't help her like that.”

Ben had been lost in thought and Rey knew that they were both thinking about how Ben himself had been brought up. “They meant well, Ben. They weren't trying to hurt you.”

“It doesn't matter what they intended.”

They stopped when they realized they were walking into a residential area. Just one block away was Han and Leia's house. With each step Rey made, the memories of the Christmas party came flooding back.

The 'For Sale' sign stood in the front yard, but Rey's eyes turned toward the row of flowers that were beginning to grow alongside the path leading to the front door.

“Can I?”

Ben shrugged. “Take whatever you want.”

Rey picked as many flowers as she could and placed them in Brie's stroller. “Ben, could we make one stop on the way home?”

They stalked the hills of the cemetery and neither of them had a good memory where the graves lied. They found the stones had already been decorated with flowers and candles of the like. But Rey wanted to place her own. 

She smiled as she placed the flowers she had picked on their graves. Leia had been a gardener. and Rey felt she was bringing a piece of home back to them.

Brie was already getting cranky and wanting to go home and sleep but Rey had to bring her here. She needed Han and Leia to know that their daughter was in good hands now. That she would take care of her just as they always wanted.

“Thank you,” she told Ben. She had unknowingly brushed the back of his hand, but he had taken notice.

 

Once Rey and Brie were safely home, Ben found himself driving for a good hour, passing the worn-out sign welcoming him to Ach-To. He arrived at a small aging farmhouse tucked away in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by only fields and stars.

He never imagined himself coming back here after so many years and felt crazy for what he was about to do.

Still he knocked, a soft knock. If his uncle were asleep, it would have gone unnoticed.

But a light came on from inside and the front door opened.

“Ben…” 

Ben would take the plunge, even if the man on the other side of the door had no interest. “Hello, uncle.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you wondering (with great patience) when this fic will get back to unraveling the mystery of the baby daddy, stay tuned for the next chap...which I will work to get done much quicker than I did with this chap.
> 
> Thank you.


	8. Find the Baby Daddy pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It begins. Part one of a jawdropper (and I tried for some fluff in this too).
> 
> You're welcome.

Luke looked tired and agitated and Ben's presence was doing him no favors. “What are you doing here?”

Ben looked down, keeping little eye contact with him as possible. “I...I don't want things to be bad between us anymore.”

Luke raised a brow at this. He hadn't expected this from Ben at all, considering how far he had to drive to get here. The rings under his eyes had equaled his own. “Are you...okay?” It was meant to be sincere, not a joke. They hadn't spoken to one another since they were at the morgue.

“I'm fine,” Ben slightly grumbled. “I just came to tell you...you were probably right to have punched me.”

“I don't agree with that, Ben.”

“Okay, just letting you know. G'night.” Ben needed this talk to end quickly. The conversation was awkward enough as it was, no matter how necessary.

“How's Rey?”

Ben made it off the porch and then stopped. “Why are you asking me?”

“Let's just say I've been hearing things.”

He didn't look back at his uncle. He didn't want to know if he messing with him or not. All Ben could do was shrug it off. Rey was not any of his business anyway. But if he were to guess, then Maz was having a loose tongue around his last living relative.

When got home, even he was surprised to have had his first good sleep since his parents died, especially since Rey was in his dreams.

\------------- 

Ben took full advantage of being his own boss and was taking more hours off...driving to the old garage to see her.

And Rey wasn't minding it. She was finding herself more grateful for the company he provided whenever he could get off work. Sometimes he would bring her food, but other times she would try to cook for him with what little she had.

One thing Ben had noticed was how messy her little “home” was getting. She had baby stuff strewn about everywhere. Books on baby care were scattered all over the card table. Whenever Brie needed something, Rey would usually drop everything to tend to her every need.

Ben was starting to feel guilty. He had put so much guilt on Rey for wanting to give her daughter away in the first place, but now he could see the toll it was taking on her to try and do what she clearly was too young and too unprepared to do.

“Rey, when's the last time you slept?” 

“I had a few hours last night,” she tried to answer over Brie's crying.

“That's not good, especially when you start working. Give her here.”

She was surprised by this request. “Y-y-you sure?”

“It's fine. I can watch her for a bit.”

Her arms her shaking passing Brie over to him. She was nervous about both of them. But oddly enough, Brie remained calm.

“That's amazing!” said Rey. “How did you do that?”

Ben laughed. “I really don't know. I've never even held a kid before.”

“I didn't think you were the type who could...I mean...I just never...”

“It's okay,” he told her. “Just go get some sleep.”

When Rey woke four hours later, Ben declared that they would go shopping for an actual bed for Rey to sleep in so she no longer had to sleep on a couch.

 

He was now spending more time with Rey just to babysit Brie. To give Rey the extra time she needed to sleep.

Once again, they were going on another “date”. Much like the first, they made a stop to put fresh flowers on Han and Leia's graves. When they returned to Rey's home they were both exhausted.

“Are you sure you really want to raise your daughter in this garage?” Ben asked her. “I know I can find some apartments close to First Order that are really affordable.”

“Not until I'm certain that I don't to depend on you for the money,” she said. “Besides I've been working on that...” She pointed to the corner of the garage where the Millennium Falcon was sitting. “I know Han never got it to work but I'm still trying. I think I almost got it, too. And maybe Brie will want to work with me on it someday. You never know.”

“What about security?”

“In D'Qar, Ben? Wasn't this town listed one of the safest in the country?”

“Exactly and now all the creeps and criminals will make their way here.”

Rey laughed. “You can't be serious.”

“Well at least let me install some locks around here.”

“You've already done too much, Ben. Go home.”

He would have except they heard a massive boom and a constant banging. “Shit,” Ben looked out the window and couldn't see anything except for the occasional flash of lightening. “It is terrible out there.” 

“Then I hope you're not thinking about going out there,” said Rey. “So what will be, Ben? The bed or the couch?”

He smiled at her. “The couch obviously.”

Between the storm, a couch not built for his physique, and Brie's crying, sleep didn't come all that easy for Ben. By morning, his eyes remained closed and his senses were filled with the scent of fresh brewing coffee.

“Ben?”

He looked up from the couch. Rey was sitting on the armrest, dressed in only a t-shirt and some sweatpants. The morning sunlight revealed that she wasn't wearing a bra either...clearly from a state of having just woken up.

And yet Ben felt strange seeing her by his side, smiling like that.

“I think I'm ready.”

 _'To work'_ , his mind was telling him. But his physical self was sitting up until he was eye-to-eye with her.

And then he pulled her to him. 

She was taken aback for only a second when their lips touched. But soon they relaxed, and Rey would find her way onto Ben's lap for the entire morning.

It was a peace that they hadn't known for a very long time.

\------------- 

“Nervous?”

“Why would I be nervous about being a janitor?” said Rey. “Especially if you're my boss.” 

“The First Order is a very intimidating company. I maybe going easy on you, but I'm not sure the others will feel the same. Don't worry, I'll see to it that you move up. Maybe you can be my new assistant.”

“Don't you already have one?”

“And I can always fire them.”

“Ben!”

They had a good laugh when they finally arrived at the building. Rey had already been here once before when she wanted to look for Ben, but this time around she was going further in. First they had dropped Brie off in the daycare area, a slick looking luxurious place possible filled with every toy and necessity beyond Rey's affordability. Ben arranged for Rey to be given a pager so that she could drop everything and come to Brie whenever she needed her mother there.

And then there was the basement, Rey felt uncomfortable at first about coming to First Order in casual clothes but she figured her job didn't really need her to dress for it and she didn't want to spend money on a ridiculous business suit.

In the basement, Rey was introduced to Mitaka, the main janitor who was going to be the one to show her the ropes. Rey couldn't help but sense how nervous he was when Ben with a straight face told him: “Treat her well.”

“Y-y-yes, Mr. Ren.”

Rey should have known that Ben was a different person at work and forgot that he went by another name when he was there. She wasn't going to let that bother her though.

As her first day progressed, Rey was tasked with dealing with the hallway floors and the ladies restrooms, mostly nasty work that brought her glances from employees up the upper crust. Rey vowed not to let herself be intimidated. She reminded herself of all the people she was doing this for... Han...Leia...Brie. She would do what it would take, go back to school someday. She would make them all proud.

“How's my little Brie cheese?” She greeted her daughter when she went into the daycare during her first break. After Rey had finished feeding Brie, her beeper had gone off. She thought it was Mitaka needing her to come back to work. 

Instead it read: _'Lunch in my office. 12th floor. -Ben'_

Rey nervously took the elevator up. She didn't want to look like she was lost or anything considering how she was dressed, but thankfully she got to the 12th floor and found only a large desk and a large door right behind it.

The woman at the desk immediately buzzed her in, as if she knew to expect her. The large door was ajar and Rey went in.

It was the largest room she had ever been in. Three times the size of her former trailer home at least. And a long glass window that looked over the city. There was a long weird looking white couch to view everything from. Ben was sitting at his desk one on side of the room and was wearing his usual black and silver business suit.

“I had lunch brought up,” he said. “Sandwiches okay?”

“Yes,” said Rey. She looked over at the First Order logo on the wall. It was still bothering her that she had seen it somewhere before. Her mind had flashed to a car...and an apartment...black and silver like this office.

“Rey? Are you alright?”

She shook her head. “Oh, I'm fine. Just tired.”

“Already, huh?” Ben went up to her and took Rey in his arms kissing her as they had before. This was much longer than the first one they shared. “I think you'll like working here.”

Rey smiled. “I already do.”

Ben would then make it a requirement that she was to his office during lunch breaks. And they took full advantage of that. Nothing sexual. But mere affection. There would be more of each other, on and off work. It was unusual for Rey to know such happiness especially given everything's that happened. She hadn't been this happy since Leia told her she wanted an open adoption.

\------------- 

He was determined to make more time in the world for her, whether it was during lunch breaks or the car ride to and from work, or the days off he happened to make sure coincided with each other.

They cuddled together on the weird white couch in his office looking out at the skyline. He did not want to be disturbed as he wanted to value every moment he had alone with Rey. It took some time, but Ben was finally ready to accept that he was in love with her.

There was just one important matter that he felt needed clearing before he could take the plunge of making such a declaration. “Rey, I've been thinking.”

“About what?”

Ben was silent, nervous. “Since Han and Le--...er my parents are gone, there's no need to keep secrets anymore is there?”

Rey sat up, already having a bad feeling where this was going. “What do you mean, Ben?”

“What I mean is, you can tell me about him...about Brie's father. I won't judge you since I already know more than anyone else.”

She gave a nervous chuckle. “And why would I tell you that?” 

“Well given how secretive you've been, something tells me he doesn't know does he? Don't you think he has a right to? And what if Brie ends up with a genetic medical condition?” Like a child, Ben pleaded. “I promise I won't beat him up too bad.”

Rey got up from the couch and faced away from him. Her hands were shaking. “Ben, I do want to tell you. I really do. There's just one problem.”

Ben pondered for a bit. “You...don't know his name?”

“I don't even know what he looks like.”

“What?!” The shock was enough to Ben off the couch. “Were you drunk??”

She softly confessed. “Kinda...yeah.”

“Do you at least remember where you...you know?”

“Some party...business...birthday? I really don't know, Ben! Even then, I wasn't sure where I was.” Having to think back to that night hurt. It hurt having a bad memory. It hurt knowing the terrible mistake she had made. “Someone bought the trailer park. They threatened to kick us all out unless we came up with enough money. Unkar kept pushing me to find work. We both knew that if we lose the house, I'd be on my own. I wasn't ready for that. And I really tried but I never got any return calls from anywhere. He told me I could be fuckable...in those exact words...”

Ben was furious, ready to punch a wall. 

“...and I knew what he meant by that, what he was suggesting. Said he was only joking cause to him, I was just some stupid kid with shitty clothes who didn't like wearing makeup. No one would want me, not even for that...”

Ben placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“...and then we ran out of time. And I didn't think. I just found some clothes, put on some makeup...I was too nervous and just took the first offer that came...$300. I was scared it wouldn't be enough. But when I finally handed Unkar the money. He laughed and told me, they already had the money days ago…took the cash I made for himself. I sold myself for nothing, Ben!”

Rey was shaking. When she couldn't take anymore she got to her knees and started sobbing. It was too much to confess and still wasn't the entire story.

Ben came down to her level, sensing something else. “You were a virgin, weren't you?”

She nodded. Ben held her close for as long as he possibly could. He would let her take her time, let her calm in his arms.

But Rey looked up at the clock. “Shit, I'm already late...”

“Forget it, Rey. I'll arrange a car to take you and Brie home. I want you to rest today. And I promise to stop by tonight when I'm done here, okay?”

She wanted to stay. But she knew Ben was right. She was a mess with no clue how she would get Brie and get to the car without people staring at her.

The elevator brought her back down to ground floor and Rey stepped out without looking, her shoulder colliding to with something.

“Watch where you're going, janitor!”

Damn, it was a someone. Rey looked back at the pouty-looking man in the black suit with bright red hair stepping into the elevator she had just exited and mumbled a “sorry.”

The door was closing until the man held it back. “Hold on, I think I've seen you somewhere before.”

Rey didn't want to look at the man anymore. She thought that maybe, but she was certain…

“No, sorry,” she said. “I don't think we've ever met.”

Rey would go as fast as she could to get to the daycare center and retrieve Brie.

\------------- 

Ben had spent hours looking up scientists, doctors, anyone he might know in those fields. Even if Rey had no idea who Brie's father was, Ben was sure that with some DNA tests, they could narrow the search, inquire with as many possible men as they needed to.

He was about to call it a night and get to Rey's, but there was buzz on his intercom.

“Mr. Ren, Hux wants to have a word with you.”

“Tell him to piss off. I'm about to go home,” he said to the intercom. 

A moment passed and his secretary's voice came on again. “He says it's a personal matter you'll want to hear, sir.”

Ben slammed his hand on the desk. “Fine!” The door buzzed and the red-haired man came in but Ben was not very thrilled. “You have five minutes and this better be good!”

“Oh it is.” Hux smiled a devious smile that even Ben wasn't comfortable with seeing. “I spoke with Mitaka and he tells me you have a new girlfriend, that new janitor girl. A bit too young don't you think? The last thing the First Order needs is another scandal.”

Ben groaned with the thought of wanting to kill Mitaka, even though there was no way he could have known...perhaps he just assumed. “So what if we are? There were no rules against it before...”

“I saw her in the lobby earlier...”

God, Ben was ready for a fight. Hux continued on, knowing he could press his buttons. He was now in the position in the company that Ben had been in months before and he knew how much he wanted to take his old boss's place.

“And I knew I had seen her somewhere before. But now it hit me...it was your birthday party back in June.”

Ben was determined to ignore him. “You're full of shit!”

“I never forget a face, Ren and you know it! You must have had quite a lot to drink that night if you don't remember her. But no worries. From the looks of her, she seemed as out of it as you were. Could barely stand up on her own”

It had been a long time since then. Rey telling him about it being a possible birthday party, Ben assumed it was coincidence, as well being drunk. He tried to remember. He couldn't. He had no recollection of seeing a face like Rey's that night. And yet he could see her there. He counted the months in his head. It would've been...

“...especially who she came with...”

Ben instantly jumped over his desk grabbed Hux by the collar. “WHO?!” he yelled. “WHO BROUGHT HER TO THAT PARTY?!”

Hux was no stranger to Ben's anger. He learned to keep his cool and smirked at him. 

Ben was accepting the truth now.

Rey was at that party. That was the night.

But with who?

\------------- 

Rey looked out the window into the darkness, wondering where Ben was or why there had been no phone call yet. She hoped she hadn't scared him away confessing all she did. She sat on the couch with instant regret.

She knew she should have told him who she met on that corner that night. The face was fading fast, but she still remembered a name…

 

_It was cold and she had been wearing a skirt she had borrowed from a neighbor, clearly too small. Rey feared she overdid the makeup. She was thankful there were no other women out. The only thing she had to do was keep an eye out for police._

_She went into an area of Jakku where she knew she had seen other women before. She almost hadn't noticed the black car that suddenly pulled up. The backseat window was rolled down and Rey couldn't see much. The corner she was on was poorly lit. But it was clearly a man, possibly older but she hoped not._

_The man looked at her as if suspicious. “Are you over 18?”_

_Rey's worst fear now was this man looking to report her. She couldn't let that happen. “Y-yes,” she lied. She would be 18 in a few months anyway so…_

_The man pondered for a moment. “$300 for the night, but you have to come with me, now.”_

_It was abrupt. Was $300 a night typical? Should she ask for more? She didn't know and the cold of the night was getting to her._

_“I'm waiting...”_

_The man was getting impatient. A part of Rey was screaming to run, screaming at her not to do this knowing that there was no turning back._

_She thought about her home, the future that was at stake._

_She started taking the birth control a few days ago. She could only hope…_

_Her hand reached the car door and she entered the backseat of a luxurious sedan. The car light inside was on and she got a better look at the man._

_He was paler, older, and bald. Not what Rey had envisioned._

_But she knew it was already too late._

_“To Starkiller,” the man told his driver._

_“Yes, Mr. Snoke.” And the car sped off into the night._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Commence screaming.


	9. Find the Baby Daddy pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I try to write dubcon in this but eh...it's more like the perspective of a virgin experiencing their first time.
> 
> Also if you don't like Snoke, try not to vomit in this chap. Just a heads up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DAMN! I never expected the reviews on my last chap to blow the fudge up like that! Thank you so much. Also didn't mean to end the chap like I did but this ended up being a longer one than I expected. Decided why not a cliffhanger. :)

This had to be a dream. His head was spinning. Ben thought he was going to hurl. 

Ben had never believed in coincidences, but for Rey to had been there that night...at Starkiller, with his own boss…

Hux had to be playing some sort of sick joke. It wouldn't be the first time. The name fell from his lips and all Ben could think of at the moment was complete rage.

Ben realized that his grip on Hux was getting shaky. No one had to die just yet. Answers were needed. But he was terrified as to what they would be. For the first time in months, he was actually wishing that Snoke wasn't dead. “Did they…?”

Hux was rolling his eyes at the whole affair. Typical Ben to lose his cool over every insignificant thing. “Well, how should I know? There were a hundred people in that apartment that night. I only saw them once when they arrived and disappear down the hall together. Why are you surprised anyway? You know Snoke was always a bit of an odd duck...liked his women young and loose. So for all I know, she could have fucked every man at that part-...”

Ben quickly threw Hux to the floor. Then angrily swiped at some stuff on his desk until the whole surface was clean and all its contents were scattered on the floor.

Normally, Hux wouldn't tempt fate but that was back when Snoke was in charge and had held more favor over Ben. Now that Ben was in charge, Hux could not have cared less how he behaved around Ben and for good reason.

“Careful the way you treat me, Ren. We don't want the police getting involved again. You're already suspect...”

“It's over,” Ben growled. “They found nothing!”

“You were the only person in the room with Snoke when he passed. Everyone else...the police...they might believe your story, but I certainly don't.”

Ben's mind was still reeling over Rey being with Snoke that night. A night that he had hardly no memory of. Why did he not see her there? Had he been drunk too? Maybe they…?

But nothing failed to jog his memory.

The day Snoke died though, was a different matter entirely. He still remembered that day vividly.

_Mid-October...business as usual. Ben had often been in the same office he worked in now as an assistant to Snoke. He had taken an interest in Ben for years and it was through his guidance that Ben was able to move up, become the man that he was now. Snoke already intended for him to be his successor. He was the one who had given him the name Kylo Ren, for both protection and a feeling of validation._

_“You haven't been looking very well, Kylo. I'm getting concerned.”_

_Ben had been spaced out at many of his meetings with Snoke as of late. He knew it wasn't good for his job. He only thought he could get away with it seeing that Snoke looked just as unwell as he was. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Truth is, I haven't slept a wink in months.”_

_“Tell me, son,” said Snoke. Ben felt strange everytime he referred to him like that. This was in spite of how he felt about Han._

_“It's a dream I've been having. I keep waking up in a bed with blood in it.”_

_“I see, and how long have you been having this dream?”_

_“Since my birthday.”_

_Despite his paleness, Snoke gave a wicked smile and chuckled. “Ah, I remember that night. That was quite the gathering indeed. Were you satisfied with my arrangements?”_

_Ben rubbed his head. “I would be if I could remember anything from it.”_

_“I only hold the best parties for my future CEO, Kylo. In your particular case, however, I made it extra special, given what you told me.”_

_Ben looked up. He was now alert. “What? What I told you?”_

_“It's nothing to be ashamed of. I solved the problem for you, didn't I?”_

_Ben was getting agitated. He slammed his hand on Snoke's desk. “Dammit what?!”_

_It took him a full minute to register why Snoke wasn't responding. He was silent, clutching his hand to his heart. His breathing became irregular and his face was getting much paler by the second._

_“Shit!”_

_He hurried over to Snoke's side. Snoke must have had some awareness because he pushed Ben aside in an attempt to get up himself. He lifted himself from the chair but then stumbled to the floor._

_Snoke was now lying there, struggling with a weak aging ticker in it's final moments._

_Ben knew there was a defibrillator just outside the office. He could run out and get it...be able to jump-start his heart again. But a part of him was hesitating. He didn't know why. Why would he want to leave Snoke there? It wasn't as if he was waiting forever to be CEO._

_He thought about his long relationship with the dying man on the floor. For all the admiration and support Snoke had given him, there was also a twisted madness. Snoke never hesitated to berate him over the smallest thing, to remind him how insignificant he was outside of this very building._

_And suddenly, Ben remembered...what he had confessed to Snoke._

_He had told his boss, with great shame, that he was a virgin._

_Snoke said he solved the problem._

_“How?” he asked the dying man._

_But Snoke wasn't answering. He was weakly reaching out his hand to Ben, releasing only small gasps of breath._

_Ben looked back coldly. Perhaps it was better not to get an answer. Perhaps it was better this way._

_Snoke's hand dropped quickly to the floor._

_And there was no more movement, no more breathing._

_Snoke was gone._

_And yet Ben felt strangely relieved, almost free._

__

“The police said the defibrillator was untouched. You expect me to believe that he died so quickly that you couldn't even help him? Because as far as I'm concerned Kylo, you let Snoke die.”

Ben was ignoring Hux as he grabbed his coat and was heading toward the door.

Hux yelled “Where do you think you're going?!”

“Home,” Ben growled.

“To that whore you hired? Go ahead. Endanger the whole First Order with your antics! You'll be in prison soon enough!”

That was far from Ben's concern. He headed straight to car and drove like a bat out of hell out of the First Order.

He had to get to Rey.

The answers in his mind were now mere fragments. He really did drank so much on his birthday. Snoke knew it. Snoke did something for him that night.

The dream of the blood on his bed. It wasn't a dream. The blood had been real. The sight of it on his bedsheets horrified him so much that he had tried to push the memory away ever since.

But now he knew where the blood might have come from. If he was right...if it had been her...

It seemed impossible, but if there was the slightest chance, he needed to know.

He nearly crashed into the garage upon arrival and banged on the door desperately. “REY!”

Rey was scared. Something wasn't right with Ben and she knew it. He was already back much later than promised. Already a bad sign. She opened the door and was greeted with a Ben who seemed to have gone through hell. “Ben? What's wrong? What happened?” 

“I need to see her.” Ben demanded.

“What?”

“I need to see Brie. Please!”

It was a strange request. Rey had never denied him seeing her daughter before. But there was something wild in Ben's eyes, something confusing and unwell.

Still she reluctantly stepped aside to let Ben inside and he went straight to Brie's crib. For the moment now, Ben was calm again, picking up the child and trying to look at her...look for any sign of familiarity in her. He couldn't see much, maybe because of the state he was in mentally. There was far more Rey in Brie than any potential father.

Her eyes, however, were brown like his. But that could have applied to a million other men.

“Ben, what's going on?” Rey cried. “Please tell me.”

He gently put Brie back in her crib. “You conceived her at a place called Starkiller.”

“What?”

“Starkiller? Does the place ring any bells? Does Snoke?”

Rey froze. She remembered the name Snoke. “But how did you…?”

“Snoke was my boss, Rey...the man I inherited First Order from.”

Was he serious? Ben's old boss...the founder of her new job...Snoke...they were all the same man. She never imagined her world would be this small but now it made sense. She had recognized the First Order symbol from that night...that horrible night she wanted to forget. “Ben, I don't understand. How could you know all of this?”

“The night you came to Starkiller...June 20th. It was my birthday…Snoke was the one who offered you $300 to go with him. Rey, I need to know. Did you...”

Rey was struggling to take in what Ben was telling her. He knew the date, the exact date, it had been his birthday. This was getting worse the more she was forced to listen.

“Did you sleep with him?!”

“I...” She was trying to think. “I don't remember...”

“Please, Rey! You have to try! I won't be able to live with myself unless I know.”

“And what if the truth...”

“Dammit, Rey! I need to know!” Ben grabbed Rey by the shoulders in desperation, but it was too much, too hard. He was almost shaking her.

“Ben, please! You're scaring me!” 

She had never seen Ben behave like this. Rey was trying to push him away and that's when his grip on her loosened. He realized his mistake then and began backing away. “I'm...I'm sorry.” Ben was running a hand through his hair. Rey was shaking from the experience. She collapsed onto the couch trying to make sense of all he told her.

“This can't be possible,” she whispered.

“I know it's crazy. But it is. I'm sorry, Rey...if you really don't remember anything...”

He was ready to head out the door. Rey realized that he was going to leave and pleaded with him. “Don't! Please stay and help me to remember.”

Ben walked over and cautiously took the other seat on the couch. He wanted to be calm. He wanted to show Rey that he was cooperative, not wanting to scare her anymore.

There was a long silence and Rey said with a nervous smile “I did drink a lot that night.”

“Did you ever drink before then?”

“Of course I have. I use to take beers from Unkar's fridge and made sure he didn't notice. I was doing that since I was 15. It helped me to cope with a lot of things...” As if on cue, the image of the back of that Sedan was coming back to her. 

_It was luxurious and yet roomy for such a small car. In what little light she could see, there was a tray with a fat liquor bottle and shot glasses in-between her and the man...Mr. Snoke._

_And she remember the wave of regret hitting her then and there. This was already turning out to be a huge mistake. But the car was already on their way to a place called 'Starkiller'. There was no turning back now._

_“You're not new to this, are you?” he asked her._

_Rey could tell him the truth. Maybe he would let her go. But something about this man...Rey feared that if she did tell him, he might have her killed and her corpse hidden in the river. There were other worse possibilities Rey didn't even want to think about._

_“No,” she said._

_Snoke's look of suspicion was brief. “There is only one reasonable condition to this deal...that you do exactly as I say. Then you will be paid in full. Is that understood?”_

_Rey nodded. She'll have to get through this night. The aftermath will come when it comes._

_“Care to loosen up?”_

_Rey went wide-eyed. What the hell did he meant by 'loosen up'?_

_But then she saw Snoke pour some bronze-colored liquor into a shot glass and handed it to Rey. She shuddered at the feeling of Snoke's boney hands against hers. They lingered far too long for her comfort._

_Rey drank beer but she knew just by the smell that what was in this glass was going to be a much stronger drink. Whiskey, she thought it might be. Hard liquor was foreign territory. She took it all in one gulp. God, the taste of it. She thought she would die from one drink. She would have given anything for some water or something to wash it down with._

_Instead, Snoke offered her another._

_Rey had downed her fourth shot by the time the car pulled infront of the most luxurious apartment building she had ever seen._

_It was when they got to the elevator, did Rey realize that Snoke was supporting her by the arm. Her head was hurting. She was drunk. More drunk than she ever was but there was still some awareness._

_They went to the top floor and Rey's senses were bombarded with the loudest music, the brightest flashing lights in dark corridors, people everywhere...drunk if not more drunk than her. Rey thought this was more of a night club scene than a party._

_The people were a mix of class. Some in their best suits, others looking like they came straight out of a strip club. But there were so many of them. Rey could feel them from all sides as Snoke tried to walk her through the crowds._

_She was already losing her balance. She found herself falling against another man. “Get off me!”_

_“Sorry,” Rey mumbled to the man._

_The fiery red-head's anger ceased when he saw who she was with. “I can't believe you brought one here tonight.” Rey heard the man mumble the name of a man 'Red' or something of that nature and how he wouldn't like Snoke bringing her here._

_“Not for me just yet,” Snoke said. “We'll see. But for now I have other plans.”_

_Snoke finally pulled Rey away from the crowds down a long hall until they got into a bedroom. It was a nice looking bedroom from what little she could see. Snoke finally turned on a lamp next to a modest looking king-sized bed._

_“Take off your clothes.”_

_Rey was just standing there looking dumbfounded. She knew sex meant she have to get naked, but she was already forgetting, or perhaps, she still had no clue, who she was banging tonight._

_“Not infront of you,” she said drunkenly._

_“Very well. You have ten minutes. When you're done, you'll get on the bed, turn off the light, and put this on.” Snoke pulled out, to Rey's surprise, a blindfold._

_Why would Snoke need her to put on a blindfold when she could already see his face? Unless maybe…_

_Rey took a minute but her head wouldn't clear. She swayed over to Snoke and snatched the blindfold from his hands._

_“And one more thing,” said Snoke. “You are to remain as quiet as possible throughout the whole process.”_

_“What?” Rey mumbled. “Why?”_

_Snoke had stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door without another word._

_Rey fell back onto the bed. Her mind was screaming at her to leave...get out while she still could. But her head was dizzy and she had no clue where she was._

_She began to mindlessly remove her clothes once it got near the ten-minute deadline. She couldn't believe that she was now sitting naked on a stranger's bed. Still, Rey took a deep breath, turned off the lamp and put the blindfold on, lying in a flat position on the bed._

_It was only a few moments later when she could hear the door open and footsteps._

_As drunk as she was, she was also scared. This was how she would be losing her virginity...with no memory of it._

_She could feel the heat of the mystery person coming closer. After some more scuffling noises, Rey felt the weight of the bed shift. The person was now sitting at the end of the bed by her feet._

_She gasped, almost forgetting Snoke's final order to her, when she felt a cold hand on her thigh slowly run up and down. These hands felt thicker, she thought. Was this even Snoke at all?_

_There was no time to ponder. The heat of the stranger intensified and Rey could feel her legs being lifted and pushed apart from one another._

_The rest seemed blurry. Perhaps she didn't want to remember how it felt._

_There was the pain, of something going inside her. A pain she hadn't felt before and she wasn't ready for it. But Rey couldn't cry, she could only gasp, dig her nails further into the bed. She regretted not touching herself more. She regretted not preparing her body for the sensation of what would be her first time._

_It seemed to stop for a second. Was there hesitation? She wouldn't know. Whatever was going into her continued, a bit more slowly now. Rey could feel herself stretching. She tried to relax her body hoping it would help._

_The invasion began to thrust. Every inch of movement seemed to hurt and yet it was also feeling strangely good._

_She was being rocked against the bed. The springs were making noises. Everything seemed to be moving faster._

_“Please,” Rey whispered but she didn't know if it was from a cry of pain or something else._

_All the while, she could hear moans from a voice that wasn't her own. They got louder and suddenly stopped._

_A burst, a warm burst filled inside of Rey._

_The thrusting had stopped but she wasn't sure if it was a good thing. Without warning, she could feel whatever was inside of her pull out. It left a strange uncomfortable feeling. She was left with only smells and a soaking feeling inbetween her legs._

_She could hear the door open. “Put your pants back on and get out here now!”_

_It was Snoke._

_Then that meant...whoever was with her on the bed was a complete stranger after all! For how messed up this night was, Rey had never felt so relieved._

_The weight of the bed shifted. There was even more scuffling and then footsteps. The door closed and it took a few minutes of silence for Rey to finally realized she was alone again._

_She didn't realize how sore she was feeling until she tried to sit up. When she removed the blindfold and turned on the light, she had not expected the sight of her to be so gruesome._

_Between her legs was a mixture of blood...her blood and a substance she knew was not hers._

_It was over. The deed was done._

_She would get her money and yet...she couldn't help but feel horrified, disgusted with herself. Perhaps it's because she had stained a stranger's bed, but suddenly she found herself unable to breathe._

_She needed to get out of there._

_Rey crawled over the bed to reach her clothes on the floor. She needed to leave. She needed to escape. But there was still the matter of payment._

_Once she was sloppily dressed, Rey stepped out into the hall. She was starting to sober up. A quick exit might be possible._

_But then she saw Snoke standing by a door in the hall, blocking the only way out._

_Rey looked down when she finally came to him._

_“Ah yes, your payment.” Snoke pulled out his wallet and took three $100 bills out. He put the money in Rey's hand but then suddenly pulled her by the arm closer to his awful breath. “You know,” he said with a devious smile. “I could double your pay tonight. If you're willing to leave with me.”_

_There was a sickness in Rey's gut. It wasn't coming from the alcohol._

_“Get away from me!” She pushed him against a wall._

_Snoke sneered at her. “Pathetic whore! You lied about being experienced!”_

_Rey didn't care how he knew the truth. She needed to leave. She hurried down the stairs. Although she had more than enough money to hail a cab home, Rey instead wandered the foreign streets to find her way back to Jakku, something that would not be accomplished until the morning light._

_Months later, Rey would find herself completely broken and disheveled, screaming and throwing objects against the wall. No matter what she did, it didn't change the positive result that appeared on every pregnancy test that lied on the floor._

_Her thoughts were not with her now tarnished future, but with the child she was carrying...a child of a whore. That was what she had created, for $300 that Unkar took for himself. That was the legacy she would be giving this baby._

 

Ben was fuming. The night had been worse than what he hoped came from it. He wished for Snoke to be alive just so he could kill him again. The only saving grace was that he wasn't the one who laid with Rey. Ben would thank every god in the world for that.

“Rey, I'm sorry.”

“Don't be,” she said. “I remember now. And you're not at fault. I made the choices that I made. I just hope that Brie can one day forgive me.”

“You love her,” said Ben. “That will be enough.” He took Rey's hands in his. “Rey, what I'm about to tell you might sound crazy, but...I think...Snoke brought you to that party for me.”

“How can you be sure when you've never laid eyes on me that night?”

“Because Rey, I told him something I wish I hadn't.” Ben took a deep breath. “I told him I was a virgin. The day he died, he said he remedied the problem on my birthday...the night you were there at Starkiller.”

Everything in the room stopped for Rey. He couldn't be saying what he think he was saying.

“I remember a dark room. Then being in a bathroom afterwards with Snoke waiting outside. I remember waking up in my bed with a hangover and...blood on my sheets. I thought it was a nightmare but it wasn't!”

She had her hand over her mouth. “Ben…?”

“I think it was me. I think...I'm Brie's father!”

Rey got off the couch and kept shaking her head. “No...no it's too much of a coincidence to be true!”

“So what if it is, Rey?!”

“I whored myself to a stranger blindfolded! I don't even know his face! How can any of it be true?!”

“It's just can!”

“Ben...” She started crying. “I wasn't even 18 yet. Oh god, if it's true then you could go to jail!”

“We can get past that hurdle. What matter now is finding out the truth. And there's only one way to know for sure...a paternity test.”

Rey was lost. This was too much to take in and the mere possibility of Ben being a father...to Brie, was just a mere fantasy. They were once rivals. Now he was the most important person in Rey's life next to her daughter. This would change too much.

“We have to,” said Ben.

“I know,” she said. “I'll do it.”

\------------- 

One week...one antagonizing week would go by. Ben arranged for all three hair samples...his...Rey's...and Brie's to be sent of to a DNA testing lab. All the while, the atmosphere between them became awkward. They still went to work. They still had lunch together. But they weren't spending much time with each other outside of that.

All they could do was wait.

Ben got the envelope delivered to First Order. He informed Rey.

“Let's wait till we get home,” he told her.

The hours went by slowly and painfully.

They headed back to the garage. Put Brie down and then they went to the couch, with the large envelope at hand.

“Are you ready?” he asked Rey.

“Not really.”

Ben kissed her. “Rey, no matter what happens...no matter what this envelope says...I...I love you...and I still want to be a part of your life...and Brie's...for as long as you'll have me.”

Rey had never heard those words from another human being to her before. “Oh, Ben...I love you too.”

Ben fiddled with opening the large envelope and pulling out the large sheet of paper that would define all their lives, possibly forever.

And for once Rey was starting to hope and believe that Ben could be right.


	10. Results

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last chap (i kid not)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well folks, I hate to do this after being late with this update, but this is where I plan to end my story.
> 
> TBT I had the first 700 or so words of this chap ready to go much earlier. It was nearing the ending point of what I planned for this story anyway but I've been plague with sickness, then writer's block, then sickness again...struggling like hell to figure out how to write this. But I've decided to let it go. Not the greatest ending in the world writing-wise. It's a bit rushed but the sooner I'm done with it, the sooner I can free myself from writing. It takes a lot of brain power and months to do what most people do on here nearly every day.
> 
> We'll see what the future holds for my writing endeavors but in the meantime enjoy what I got here.

“Here,” said Ben handing the paper over to Rey. “She's your child. You should look at it first.”

Rey, hands shaking took the sheet from Ben. There were two columns of numbers, one with Brie's name and one with Ben's. She didn't understand what the numbers meant. Her eyes were slow to taking everything in.

She got to the bottom and saw something in the corner. 

**Probability of Relatedness: 99.999996%**

“Ben?!” Rey couldn't breathe. “It's says at the bottom: not excluded. Does that mean…?”

Ben quickly grabbed the paper from Rey. He was just as shocked as she was. “Oh god. Yes...yes, it does. Rey, I'm Brie's father!”

He hugged Rey who was still struggling to take it all in, until she eventually sobbed into his arms. They were tears of joy. Happiness had been a rare thing in Rey's life. She never thought she would be happy that her own daughter was a part of Ben, that they were all now of one blood.

As soon as she calmed, Ben went over to Brie's crib. He realized how awful it was that he had been completely absent for the birth, completely dubious to the timing of it all. His life and Rey's...more intertwined than they could have ever imagined.

He took Brie into his arms. He sense something unusually natural about the way she seemed so calm around him, now it was all starting to make sense. “Did you hear that Brie?” Ben said to her. “I'm your daddy.”

Rey looked over at her child. “I thought I saw a bit of Leia in her...in the dimples. I thought it was just my grief after they died. But now it all make sense.”

Ben put Brie back in her crib. “You have to come home with me...both of you.”

“What?”

He turned to Rey. “I can't let you two live like this any longer. And you no longer have to work for me to provide for her Rey. Let me handle that. I want all of us to be together.”

“But you still live at Starkiller, don't you?”

“Yes,” said Ben. “Wha…?” He stopped when he remembered Rey's story of how Brie came to be. Starkiller would have provided unpleasant memories and possible triggers for Rey no matter how well the outcome turned out to be. “I see.”

“We'll be fine here,” Rey tried to assure him.

“I want the best possible future for my daughter,” said Ben. “Don't you?”

“Of course, I do.”

He kissed her. “We can make this work, Rey. In fact, I think there is one more place for us.”

–

Despite having been neglected for some time, Han and Leia's front yard garden still looked beautiful than ever. All the flowers were out now in full bloom.

It was going to be strange...incredibly strange...for Rey to be living in the house of the people she was to give her child to (and were now dead). The house was a bit big and rich for someone who has lived like she had. But she was still grateful that the house had not sold all the same.

It had to be equally strange for Ben. It had been years since he ever step foot into this home, having made every effort to avoid his parents whenever possible. He had been surprised that the house had even come into his possession. He was surprised his parents put him in the will at all, especially after he had been the one to close his own father's garage.

On moving day, Rey was already tending to the garden, removing the weeds and trimming the overgrown grass.

By sunset, the movers had gone and Ben took Rey up to Brie's nursery, the one Han and Leia had intended for her. Everything was almost as Rey remembered it, as Leia had designed it.

“I still think this is better than the old break room,” said Ben.

Rey smiled. “You're right. It is.”

And not too far away was the master bedroom. Ben had bought a king size bed. “You didn't think I was going to let you sleep in a separate room, now did I?”

Rey followed Ben into the bed, letting him cuddle her. The warmth was wonderful.

She could get used to this.

–

The age of consent in their state was 16. That couldn't have been more of a relief to Rey. She would have never forgiven herself if Ben had been punished for her past mistakes.

Still, it didn't stop Hux from being an ass to Ben about it...going as far as to even sell the story to the papers that he had been with a teenage prostitute. The story was dropped since Rey wasn't going to come forward or make any demands.

But the damage had already been done. Ben had no choice but to resign from First Order.

“It's going to be alright,” Ben told her. “I can find work elsewhere.”

“I should be finding work too,” said Rey.

“No. You have a more important job to do taking care of our daughter.”

He had been right. But there was something more important that Ben wanted for Rey. She would remain at home so that she could finish school online.

Rey would recieve her GED that summer and for the first time, she was feeling proud of herself. She finally felt that she was doing right by Brie.

Ben's relationship with Luke improved, if only slightly. How ironic that he would be alongside family again as he would find work doing odd jobs around his farm during the day. Still, Ben had been wealthy enough from his time at the First Order that he would be able to provide for Rey and Brie pretty much forever.

–

It would be hard to believe that it would soon be a year since his parents had died. But both Rey and Ben knew, that the deaths of Han and Leia should not be the center focus of Brie's 1st birthday. They had gone to the graves to lay the flowers that day. And that night many people had been appeared for the birthday celebration. Many faces that Rey had meet from previous gatherings and made her feel more welcome now.

When the party ended, and Brie was put in her crib, Ben whispered to Rey. “I have a surprise for you...in the garage.”

Rey followed him downstairs quietly, unsure of what to expect. “Rey, I know how much you miss the old garage. I'm sorry Hux tore it down.”

“It's all in the past,” she assured.

“You know, after Han died, how Chewie gone away for a bit? Well when he finally came back, he needed something to do. So I gave him the one thing I was able to save from that place. Go in there.”

Rey had opened the entryway to the garage and could not believe what was sitting there.

It was the Millennium Falcon, all squeaky clean and polished...as if it had been brand new.

Rey got inside, almost on the verge of tears. She got into the front passenger seat and saw that everything had been restored to near perfect condition.

“Oh Ben! You must thank Chewie for me. I thought I'd never see this thing again.”

“Open the glove compartment.”

She was almost confused by the request but Rey did anyway. She opened to find it completely empty...except for a small black velvet box.

She had been overwhelmed with emotion, slowly opening it to reveal a beautiful diamond on a gold band.

Ben had been standing at the open door by Rey's seat. “Rey...” She already knew the question but he spoke anyway. “We've been like a family for so long. But this time, I want to make it official.” He got down on one knee. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” She leapt out of the car to embrace Ben and give him a passionate kiss.

She looked back on her struggles, on everything in her life that had led to this moment. When she had told Maz Kanata about Ben being Brie's father, the woman chuckled referring to the whole situation as “the happiest of circumstances”.

But Rey knew it was something else. Almost as if fate had been playing its hand all along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope making Ben the father doesn't seem like a cheat. I swear it really was what I had planned from near the beginning. I mean, who else was it going to be? ;)
> 
> Thank you very much to all of you who have read and/or reviewed this story. You have all been awesome to me.


End file.
